It’s 17 months until the 2024 election, but things are going to get ugly quickly. Recently, I wrote about the problems Donald Trump might have in his presidential bid. Since that time, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has thrown his hat into the race, and the fur is flying already.

Trump-associated PACs have been attacking DeSantis, throwing accusations against him to see what sticks, many going back to when DeSantis was in Congress. I thought Trump and DeSantis got along pretty well then. Trump endorsed DeSantis for governor and even moved his family to Florida while DeSantis was governor. What changed? DeSantis is getting in the way of Trump’s coronation as the Republican nominee.

As I’ve said before, I voted for Trump both times he ran. But 2024 is not 2016 or 2020. Things have changed. We all need to be very focused on who will be the best possible candidate to beat Joe Biden in 2024. That’s if he’s still standing. Given his health issues, frequent vacations, and very short workdays most weeks, it’s NOT a given.

The Democrats are counting on Trump being the candidate because the level of hatred for Trump is their ace in the hole to defeat him. We are going to have a repeat of the 2016 campaign on steroids! While Trump accomplished a number of great things, it was his own personality and unfiltered mouth that tripped him up from accomplishing more. And, worse, NOTHING has changed since then.

Trump continues to act like a petulant child who isn’t getting his own way. Just recently, he trashed his former campaign manager and counselor, Kellyanne Conway, and his former press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, who stood up to the bullies in the press corp and defended Trump. That doesn’t inspire confidence in those considering going to work for him. Loyalty to subordinates is not Trump’s strength. Not to beat a dead horse, but there’s the issue of character and integrity.

When it comes to character and integrity, DeSantis has exhibited those since he came onto the political scene. He served his country as a Navy JAG officer and served in Iraq as legal advisor to Seal Team One. He has taken on the media that hate him as much as it hates Trump. But DeSantis handles the pressure without throwing temper tantrums or childishly demeaning a person’s looks, personality, or education.

DeSantis took what had been a swing state for years and turned it solidly red in 2022. He handled COVID much better than Trump did, despite Trump’s allegation that Florida was worse than New York. DeSantis does not have all the baggage of the past to unpack in the White House.

I’ve heard people say DeSantis isn’t charismatic like Trump. Really? Barack Obama was charismatic, as was Bill Clinton and Donald Trump. Yes, they had personality and charisma, but they were void of godly character and integrity.

We’re still a long way off from the 2024 election. We need to be paying attention to the issues going forward and praying like we have not prayed in years. If Democrats win in 2024, expect a packed Supreme Court, expect statehood for DC and Puerto Rico to add four more leftist senators, and expect fair elections to be a thing of the past.

Something to pray about!