Technically, the 2024 presidential race has started, but we are far from establishing any fundamental understanding of what this vicious contest could become.

We’ve gotten as far as two candidates on the GOP side:  Former President Donald Trump and his former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley.  Trump leads Haley in every poll thus far, and by margins that would keep Haley’s staff from signing any leases in DC soon.

But another candidate is looming over the horizon, caught in a waiting game between the DOJ and Donald Trump…and it looks like he’s beginning to manufacture his first public relations strategy ahead of his campaign announcement.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis slammed fellow Republicans for acting like “potted plants” instead of fighting against the left’s “woke ideology” during an event Thursday, according to a report.

DeSantis made the accusations as he touted the Sunshine State as the country’s new “leading red state” during a speech at a three-day event hosted by the political group Club for Growth — which dozens of the biggest GOP donors attended, Fox News reported.

“If woke ideology takes over, it will destroy this country. We are not going to let that happen in the state of Florida,” he said during his 40-minute speech at a Florida seaside retreat called The Breakers.

The governor, who is a likely candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, said the best way to defeat the so-called “wokeness” is to go on offense.

Republicans need to not shy away from these fights just because the media and the left are going to call you names,” DeSantis said.

This is one of DeSantis’ first wide-scale attacks against the Republican base, and it almost certainly intends to paint him as the “anti-woke” candidate when he decides to enter the race.

 

Cross-Posted with liberty hub