Americans, Know Thine Enemy

Contact Your Elected Officials

The One Thing Trump Has That DeSantis Never Will

โ€œIf you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.โ€ ~ Sun Tzu, The Art of War

The New York Times Header

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is in a trap of his own devising. His path to the Republican presidential nomination depends on convincing Donald Trumpโ€™s base that he represents a more committed and disciplined version of the former president, that he shares their populist grievances and aims only to execute the Trump agenda with greater forcefulness and skill. But it also depends on convincing a G.O.P. elite grown weary of Mr. Trumpโ€™s erratic bombast (not to mention electoral losses and legal jeopardy) that he, Mr. DeSantis, represents a more responsible alternative: shrewd where Mr. Trump is reckless; bookish where Mr. Trump is philistine; scrupulous, cunning and detail-oriented where Mr. Trump is impetuous and easily bored. In short, to the base, Mr. DeSantis must be more Trump than Trump, and to the donors, less.

Thus far, Mr. DeSantis has had greater success with party elites. By pairing aggressive stances on the culture wars with free-market economics and an appeal to his own competence and expertise, Mr. DeSantis has managed to corral key Republican megadonors, Murdoch media empire executives and conservative thought leaders from National Review to the Claremont Institute. He polls considerably higher than Mr. Trump with wealthy, college-educated, city- and suburb-dwelling Republicans. Mr. Trump, meanwhile, retains his grip on blue-collar, less educated and rural conservatives. For the G.O.P., the primary fight has begun to tell an all-too-familiar story: Itโ€™s the elites vs. the rabble.

Mr. Trump, for his part, appears to have taken notice of this incipient class divide (and perhaps of the dearth of billionaires rushing to his aid). In the past few weeks, he has skewered Mr. DeSantis as a tool for โ€œglobalistโ€ plutocrats and the Republican old guard. Since his indictment by a Manhattan grand jury, Mr. Trump has sought to further solidify his status as the indispensable peopleโ€™s champion, attacked on all sides by a conspiracy of liberal elites. While donors and operatives may prefer a more housebroken populism, it is Mr. Trumpโ€™s surmise that large parts of the base still want the real thing, warts and all.

By Sam Adler-Bell

Read Full Article

The New York Times
The New York Timeshttps://www.nytimes.com/
The New York Times brings you unparalleled access to the people and events shaping our world today. we tell stories In a range of formats to fit your lifestyle.

Why the Trump Administration is Sitting on the Epstein Files

President Trump, AG Bondi, and FBI Dir. Patel have the advantage over us in that they see the big overall picture when it comes to the Epstein List.

Trumpโ€™s โ€œMajor Statementโ€ On Russia Is A Clumsy Attempt To Thread The Needle

The โ€œmajor statementโ€ on Russia Trump hyped up turned out to be an attempt to thread the needle between escalating US involvement in Ukrainian and walking away from it.

AI Takes Customer Service from Doublespeak to Triplespeak

Corporations are replacing customer service agents with AI agents. Here's a real-life example of attempting to use AI to have my internet restored.

The Left’s Descent into Extremismย ย 

The political left, from mainstream Dems to radical Antifa, have embraced extremism, alienating swaths of the public and undermining their own influence.

Roger Stone Speaks About Trump at Turning Point USA

Longtime Donald Trump friend, Roger Stone, gave a speech at the 2025 TPUSA convention offering his take on the recent Epstein List controversy.

Border Czar Says Physical Appearance โ€˜Canโ€™t Be the Sole Reasonโ€™ to Detain Someone

Border czar Homan said comments were โ€œtaken out of contextโ€ and federal immigration enforcement agents can't detain people based on physical appearances alone.

Capacity of US Coal-Fired Power Plants to Fall Over 15 Percent by 2028

Total operating capacity of coal-fired power plants in US is set to drop to 145 GW by end of 2028, a 15% decline from the 172 GW in operation as of May.

Violence Against ICE Escalates Across America

ICE officers face increased confrontation on the street, which crosses the line between free speech and physical violence.

International Buyers Purchased $56 Billion Worth of US Homes in 1 Year

Foreign buyers purchased $56 billion worth of existing homes in the US between April 2024 and March 2025, up by 33.2% from the previous 12 months.

Trump to Announce $70 Billion Energy and Innovation Investment in Pittsburgh

President Trump is meeting with business leaders to discuss how best to meet the energy and computing needs of the future.

Attorney General Pam Bondi Dismisses Justice Departmentโ€™s Top Ethics Lawyer

AG Pam Bondi terminated the head of the DOJโ€™s ethics division, according to a letter posted to social media by the fired official.

Trumpโ€™s Potential Secondary Tariffs on Russia Would Clobber China, India

President Trump said he will impose โ€œvery severeโ€ secondary tariffs on Russia if President Putin does not agree to a cease-fire with Ukraine in 50 days. (09-14-22)

Trump Says He Spoke to Bongino Amid Reports of Infighting Over Epstein Files

President Trump spoke to FBI Deputy Dir. Dan Bongino, indicating the two remain close despite reported friction over release of Jeffrey Epstein docs.
spot_img

Related Articles