Florida Politicos Are Worried a Bitter Ron DeSantis Is Coming Home in Revenge-Mode: Report

Ron DeSantis’s decision earlier this month to drop out of the Republican presidential primary spared Americans from the possibility of having to endure his petty authoritarianism for four (or more) years.* But there‘s one group of people who aren’t so lucky, and those are the people of Florida, who have to live with him as governor for another three years. And, according to some state insiders, the next three years may be worse than the ones that came before it, because now, DeSantis is not only a petty authoritarian, but one who’s very recently been scorned.

Politico reports that “more than a dozen legislators, lobbyists, political operatives, members of the DeSantis administration, and Republican members of Congress” revealed in interviews that they have concerns that DeSantis will return to the state in revenge-mode. “You have a choice: You can accept responsibility or you can blame others,” state representative Randy Fine, who earned the ire of the governor when he endorsed Donald Trump, told the outlet. “I don’t know which he’ll choose. I hope he uses it as a learning experience.” Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, was more blunt in her assessment, telling Politico, “If he’s frustrated and he’s angry, he may come back and try to burn it all down.”

Of course, as Politico notes, the idea of DeSantis lashing out would…not be at all surprising:

Fears of a vengeful DeSantis aren’t unfounded. He went after Disney after the corporate giant vowed to undo a law limiting the classroom instruction of sexual orientation and gender identity that critics called “Don’t Say Gay.” DeSantis had a falling out with Susie Wiles, his 2018 campaign manager who is now a top adviser to Trump, that led him to advocate for her removal from Trump’s reelection campaign in late 2019. Last year, state senator Joe Gruters, a former chair of the Republican Party of Florida, contended that DeSantis used his line-item veto to wipe out funding for projects backed by Gruters because he endorsed Trump.

Still, not everyone thinks DeSantis plans to go scorched earth. “I don’t think he’s going to be governing with any sense of vengeance toward the Trump people because he’s very forward looking,” US representative Matt Gaetz told Politico. “He has a career where he sets his eyes on a goal and he pursues that goal.”

While a vengeful DeSantis is an extremely unpalatable prospect, if he focuses on certain targets, the outcome might not be so bad. On Monday, one day after he dropped out of the race, DeSantis took to X to voice his opposition to a Florida bill that would have taxpayers help foot Trump’s legal bills. Less than two hours later, the lawmaker sponsoring the bill said she would withdraw the legislation.

*Of course, an even bigger petty authoritarian not only remains in the race but is very likely to be the GOP nominee.

Today in chilling threats from the front-runner for the GOP nomination