The American newspaper “The Washington Post” said that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is preparing to seek the Republican Party’s nomination again for the 2028 presidential elections, according to three people familiar with the matter.
She added that this trend comes in the wake of the steadfastness of Florida, its political stronghold, one of the few conservative citadels that survived the Democrats' sweeping victories in the midterm elections.
“Not breaching Florida's strongholds gives DeSantis more credibility than almost anyone else has in the early stages of the 2028 race,” says Dan Eberhart, a prominent Republican donor and energy executive who represented DeSantis' unsuccessful 2024 presidential campaign.
According to a person close to him — who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations — DeSantis has already reached out to at least one political adviser about working on his campaign, and his political action committee sent text messages this week to raise funds, another step that those close to him took as an indication of his intent to run.
The governor's allies believe that there is a good political opportunity, especially after voters categorically rejected President Donald Trump's agenda this week.
DeSantis described the election results as “an event that almost threatens the very existence of the Republican Party,” and at a press conference in Tallahassee, he said: “It is the political equivalent of a meteorite colliding with the Earth; “It affected the entire United States, whether the blue (Democratic) states, the red (Republican) states, or something in between.”
After the report was published, DeSantis posted a statement on social media denying what was reported, writing: “I have not contacted anyone about running for any position.”
Before Tuesday, Vice President J.D. Vance was viewed as the president's political heir and front-runner in the emerging 2028 race; This is an assumption that was completely dispelled after the widespread popular rejection of Republicans and the policies of the current administration.
The person close to DeSantis said that the latter realized, through his experience in the 2024 elections, that he needed to step up his media exposure if he wanted to achieve success. He also concluded that he should not wait too long before entering the presidential race.
In 2023, he chose to wait out the Florida legislative session. This waiting period gave Trump's team ample time to define and attack his political identity.
DeSantis took advantage of the losses suffered by the Republican Party this week to appear in prominent media outlets, such as Fox News and others, and present himself as an alternative to Trump's political approach.
He has also sought to distinguish himself from other Republican politicians by taking specific positions on artificial intelligence, and has expressed strong opposition to the establishment of data centers in Florida.
DeSantis' bid to win the party's nomination in 2024 ended with his withdrawal ahead of the New Hampshire primary. He came in second place in the 2024 Iowa caucus elections, obtaining 21.3 percent of the votes, which is a very far cry from Trump, who won more than 50 percent.
US President Donald Trump appointed his close advisor Stephen Miller, one of the most prominent figures of the far-right, as director of the White House office, in a move that the president’s critics considered an indication of his intention to continue the political confrontation after the defeat suffered by his party in the midterm congressional elections.
The decision comes at a time when Republicans are facing a crisis over the future of the party and Trump's role in shaping its direction. The Associated Press reported that the electoral defeat sparked disagreements within the party regarding the path that should be followed, between returning to traditional conservatism based on financial discipline and national security, as embodied by former President Ronald Reagan, and continuing to adopt the political approach established by Trump under the slogan “Make America Great Again.”
Republicans face a dilemma: returning to Reagan's approach may alienate the hard-line conservative base that Trump attracted, while adhering to his policies may lead to further alienation among voters, according to the agency. “We have to look at ourselves,” Alex Latcham, executive director of the Senate Leadership Fund, which spent $810 million supporting Republican candidates, said in statements to the agency. “We must first understand and honestly acknowledge the reasons for a defeat of this magnitude, then reorganize our ranks and agree on a path forward.”
In an indication of his adherence to the confrontational approach, Trump posted, on Friday evening, on his “Truth Social” platform a picture of himself bearing the phrase “Mr. Veto,” in a message to the Democratic majority that will control Congress starting next January. As for Miller, who will assume his new position on Monday, he wrote on the “X” platform: “The mission is clearer than ever: to fight with all our might to support the president and defend this great republic.”
First big adjustment after defeat
Trump announced the promotion of Miller (41 years old) to replace his current office director, Susie Wiles (69 years old), in the first major reshuffle within his administration since the Democrats’ sweeping victory in the parliamentary elections on Tuesday. Trump told reporters about his new advisor: “He is a real fighter.” "He has been with me from the beginning (...) and he is very loyal and intelligent."
The president praised Wiles, who ran his 2024 campaign, saying she “did an excellent job,” but made clear he wanted to “make a change.” Her departure comes after the election results were widely interpreted as a rejection of the policies of the first two years of Trump's second term, including his tough campaign on immigration, of which Miller was one of the most prominent architects.
The president did not rule out making additional changes in his administration. In an excerpt from an interview with CBS, which is supposed to be broadcast on Sunday, he said: “I love my government (...) but maybe I will make some changes.”
When asked about Secretary of War Peter Hegseth, whose standing was damaged by his role in the unpopular war with Iran, Trump affirmed his continued confidence in him.
Strategic position
“My commitment to the president and his mission will never change,” Wiles wrote on the “X” platform. Wiles was the first woman to hold the position of White House Office Director, and she is also among the last women to leave senior positions in the Trump administration, after the president fired Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
Wiles announced in September that she had recovered from breast cancer. According to a source in the White House, she submitted her resignation on Thursday evening, while American media reported that her position within the administration had been fragile for some time. The position of Director of the White House Office is considered one of the most influential positions in the American administration, as its occupant is responsible for coordinating government work and controlling the access of people and information to the President.
Some members of the administration welcomed Miller's appointment, including Vice President J.D. Vance, who wrote on the X platform that "Stephen Miller is a wonderful patriot, and he will do great things." Miller appeared on Friday evening at Trump's residence at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida in front of a crowd of Republican Party supporters.
He said in a video clip that the president posted on “Truth Social”: “It is the honor of my life to be the director of President Trump’s office,” and he added, addressing him: “I swear to you and I promise you, Mr. President, to offer you my absolute loyalty, my firm commitment, and my complete dedication to your success and the success of this country.”
Democratic criticisms and Republican warnings
Miller is considered one of the most prominent advocates within the White House for strict immigration policies, and a spokesman for the nationalist movement that portrays immigration as an existential threat to the United States, based on a vision of the country as a white Christian nation, as reported by Agence France-Presse.
His appointment sparked sharp criticism from Democrats, who considered that the midterm elections also constituted a rejection of the methods of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE), which is carrying out a mass deportation campaign.
Hakeem Jeffries, the most prominent candidate for speaker of the next House of Representatives, said, “Stephen Miller is a dangerous xenophobe and a crazy extremist, and his hands are stained with American blood.”
But criticism is not limited to the Democratic camp, as calls are mounting within the Republican Party itself to review its relationship with Trump and his political approach. The Associated Press quoted Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as describing the election results as “an event that threatens the extinction” of the Republican Party, while Senator Ted Cruz likened it to popular rejection on the scale of the Watergate scandal, and former Vice President Mike Pence considered it a moment of “reckoning.”
Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson also declared that the midterm elections represented “the end of the Trump era,” while the losing Republican candidate in New Hampshire, John Sununu, held the president responsible for alienating voters from the party.
On the other hand, other Republicans believe that Trump is still capable of directing the debate within the party, especially on immigration, despite the defeat.
