MEGHAN MCCAIN: Relentless forces arrayed against Ron DeSantis smear him – because they fear him. But I’ll take this proven executive over the aging politicos failing America

It’s make or break time, America.

Brand new polls on the Republican primaries are out and the prospects look terribly bleak.

President Donald Trump leads Governor Ron DeSantis, his closest competitor, by as much as 50 percentage points.

These surveys are a final wake-up call: no more hitting the snooze button.

Let’s be clear about what DeSantis is dealing with. He shares the “anyone but Trump vote” with seven other Republican candidates.

Of course he’s having a hard time.

Unless a miracle happens, in November 2024 it will be Trump versus Biden and the vast majority of voters will hold their noses as they pull the lever.

But there is a way out – just listen to New Hampshire’s Republican governor, Chris Sununu.

“If seven of those candidates have the discipline to get out, Trump will lose,” Sununu said in a new interview this week. “Make it a one-on-one race, Trump loses. There’s no doubt about it.’

So here we go: a plea to the GOP field. If you’re not consistently scoring in double figures nationally, stop!

That leaves two: Don and Ron. Everyone else just fills the stage of a debate stage.

But the other problem for DeSantis is that he’s getting hit from all sides.

There is no person in the 2024 race who has been on the receiving end of as much unrelenting negativity as the governor of Florida.

Notice how the forces arrayed against him – left and right – are united around a single narrative that a candidate’s personality is more important than actual performance.

Trump’s campaign is sending out daily emails announcing an upcoming “KISS OF DEATH COUNTDOWN” for the DeSantis campaign. They once reportedly rented a plane to fly over the Iowa State Fair with a banner that read, “Be Sympathetic Ron.”

The left-wing media is happy to play this up because they want Trump to win the nomination. They assume he will be defeated by Biden in 2024, so they are happy to clear a path for him just like in 2016.

“Awkward Americans See Themselves in Ron DeSantis: But Do They Like What They See?” read a headline from the Washington Post.

“Given the decision between voting for him and getting a pap smear from a girl I went to high school with,” said a woman interviewed in the piece, “give me the paper dress.”

Okay then.

But is personality such an important quality?

Some of America’s greatest presidents were introverts. From John Adams to Abraham Lincoln to Dwight D. Eisenhower, it is often the diligent leaders who can succeed in an office where the showman makes big promises but fails to deliver.

In this age of short attention spans and sound bites, it’s fair to ask: Would any of these men have a shot at winning the job today?

Too many voters want someone like Vivek Ramaswamy, who raps on stage and delivers punchy sound bites. That’s easy when he has no political record to defend.

Haven’t we learned our lesson, folks?

The country has experienced Barack Obama’s superficial charisma, Trump’s erratic antics and now Biden’s evasive, senile invocations of America’s soul.

What we need now is a return to seriousness.

Just ten months ago, DeSantis was the conquering hero of the conservative movement, beloved by every faction of the Republican Party, and riding out a landslide re-election as governor.

In a testament to his broad appeal, he won about 65% of the vote in Latin America’s majority districts — 16 percentage points better than he performed just four years earlier.

Florida has been one of the nation’s fastest-growing states during the COVID pandemic, thanks in large part to the governor’s decision to make the Sunshine State a safe haven for those fleeing draconian lockdowns and sweeping public health guidelines.

Under DeSantis, Florida was among the first states in the country to block mask and vaccine mandates and reopen businesses and schools, but COVID death rates were higher in New York, where lockdown recommendations were embraced.

Most importantly, Florida’s economy replaced all the jobs lost during the pandemic nine months earlier than the national average.

Thanks to a barrage of criticism, this former Republican champion has turned into a kind of mini-Jeb Bush.

But why?

Whenever the Trumpian right or left goes after DeSantis for policy reasons, they fall flat on their faces.

“Lockdown Ron should look in the mirror and ask himself why he is trying to mislead voters,” a Trump campaign lackey said in a statement.

No.

It was President Trump who condemned the first Republican states for lifting COVID-era business closures.

When DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education bill in 2022, which restored the rights of mothers and fathers to control what their children learned in schools, President Biden called it “hateful.”

Biased media outlets deemed the measure the “Don’t Say Gay Bill,” but when Americans were shown the actual language of the bill, 61 percent supported it.

Look, it’s clear that DeSantis is more introverted and less of a performer than other candidates. He is a policy man who thinks deeply about the policy he pursues. But it’s these qualities that helped him pull off the COVID miracle in Florida.

At the end of the day, I pray that my party will come to its senses. Despite the fuss, DeSantis’ resume stands. He deserves a fair, definitive assessment from voters smart enough to see through the smears of Trump, his allies and the left-wing media.

It’s long past time for the Republican Party to rally behind Ron – before it’s truly too late.