I spoke out against Trump during his first primaries that I would not and did not vote for him to become the GOP candidate. Once again, I will not vote for him again and this is precisely why. Gov DeSantis has proven to be an outstanding Govenor of my adopted state and there was absolutely no reason to attack him in general, much less before Trump or DeSantis have even announced their candidacy for President. Through the 4 years of Trump, I suffered through the endless nasty rhetoric from both sides, the attempts to tear him down unjustifiably, and the continued effort to suggest he is the worst thing since Satan himself. Truth be told, Trump is an ass, he is egotistical, and he is narcissistic. But for as much nasty rhetoric he dished out, his opponents were equally, if not worse, as they demonstrated their true nature.
While I did not like the man representing this country as President, I also could not deny that he lived up to the conservative policies I desire, and truly fought to make them happen with notable successes along the way. Still, we can do better. What he has done is shown the way to those would be conservative candidates preparing to run for President. Not through his style of rhetoric, but by their actions in fighting hard for those things conservatives and I want done, without backing down just to appease those who think fortitude is some kind of fascist trait. I want a President who fights with purpose, can challenge the left and the media eloquently, and put them in their place without resorting to childish insults and demeaning rhetoric. Trump had his chance, and again, in many areas I think he did well, in terms of policies and executive actions. But in the end, he failed to retain that position, which even he would criticize others for not finding a way to win. Even though I too think there may be some significant inconsistencies in the 2020 election, we need to find ways to correct what might have been exploited and move forward. I don't like to rehash things, as I prefer to draw upon the lessons learned and what went wrong, in order to correct them, not constantly dwell on them.
Election integrity is important, and our enemies are trying to engineer the American people's sentiment, to get us to thinking it is completely rigged and pointless. But when we challenge those that have a perception that election integrity may have been or could be exploited, we ignore those who are willing to take on that challenge. Our enemies are also trying to rig it too while pushing the idea that it is already corrupt beyond repair. There are always weaknesses to be found and exploited and we must always remain vigilant to secure those weaknesses while working to ensure maximum access to voting for all Americans. Some will slip through the cracks either through poor personal responsibility, or through issues in the system. But I would argue these are fewer than most people would like to admit. We should be more concerned about those exploiting the weaknesses, and yes, there were and likely still are weaknesses.
Just this weekend I was relieved to read a report about one voter arrested for voter fraud after she was discovered having voted in two states for several cycles of elections since 2016. Only now did the state discover this fact and it makes me wonder how many more are verifying their registered names against the other states. I moved to Texas from Florida back in 2010 and for the next 4 years after I retired, I continued to get absentee ballot notices even though I had changed my state residency, informed the state of Florida I did so, and asked them to take me off their roles. Conceivably, I too probably could have voted in both states for several years before getting detected. How many others have noted this and possibly attempted to do it?
Getting back to Trump vs DeSantis... He obviously knows DeSantis threatens his hope to win the GOP candidacy and with good reason. DeSantis is a better choice as a candidate and would make a much better President based on his noted actions in Florida. Not only can he do the job well, he can do it without all the endless narcissistic rhetoric, self-aggrandizement, childish attacks, and constant bickering between him and the left/MSM.