I just don't see that happening, and not even for @
Shadowferal 's reason. Well, not entirely.
DeSantis wants to be the
next Trump, and knows full well he cannot be the
current Trump. He's waiting in the wings for exactly that reason -- he knows he can't take on Trump at Trump's game. Right now, he has some easy victories because Trump's followers will back him -- because DeSantis hasn't turned on him, or more realistically, Trump doesn't view what DeSantis has done/is planning to do as a betrayal yet.
DeSantis will flat-out refuse to run, until Trump has said "I am not running" in a credible form. Such as by being arrested. Or dying. Or faking an illness when he realizes he can't win. DeSantis will throw his hat into the ring so hard the very second that happens, people will think
Goldfinger is being rebooted
1.
Which brings me back to this point: DeSantis wants to be the next Trump. Other than the fact that he's not a failure in every single step he's taken, hasn't cheated on his wife...I think....is younger, healthier, and actually has governing experience, he basically is Trump.
VP picks have to widen the ticket, not double down on it. The GOP
might nominate a woman this century, but an African-American, Hispanic, or Jew isn't looking good. DeSantis is a middle-aged white male, a demographic Trump already has locked up.
The Team Trump ticket gains literally nothing by having DeSantis as a running mate. They don't need a Trump, they already have one. As I said recently, if Trump loses even 10% of the votes he had in 2016, he loses the election. Having a Trump/Trump ticket, while so many Team Trump members are being hauled off in chains and while President Harris keeps saying "Trump's COVID pandemic" or "Trump's friend Russia" in every press briefing every question, is not a strong
enough selling point.
Now I'll get back to Shadowferal. We all know Trump is a sociopathic narcissist, who sees betrayal in everything done by everyone which isn't in Trump's best interest. Untrustworthy people don't trust anyone.
What would Trump, who would at that point be even older, even fatter, and even less able to climb a small hill, think about having DeSantis within arm's reach? He would think, and no I'm not exaggerating, "DeSantis will try to kill me and take over the country."
Because Trump himself did the same thing. And sociopaths project themselves on everyone they view as human.
Trump
shouldn't take DeSantis, but also, Trump
won't take DeSantis. Trump will see too much of Trump in DeSantis, which he should. This is why Pence turned out to be perfect. He broadened the base...slightly...but he rarely challenged Trump on anything. Flynn, at the beginning, that's it. Pence never took the initiative. He never formed policies that took effect, never formed task forces or committees that mattered, and was once mistaken for a potted plant.
Pence let Trump attempt to
murder him,
and did nothing.
Trump will want that, now knows he can have that, and is no longer in a position where he will allow the classic Republicans to dictate terms. He's going to find an attractive white woman who will do everything he says, probably for $130,000. Yes, we're looking for a whore, so naturally my first thought is Stefanik. But as this thread has shown, he has his pick of the brothel.
Quite frankly, DeSantis is a bigger threat to the country if he does run with Trump's blessing (or implied blessing). He would have all of Trump's followers, and also would be able to coax some Republicans to return to the voting booth.
1 Batista would have made a fantastic fucking Oddjob. Too bad they already used him.