Pointing to a recent gambit by DeSantis to rally support by attacking the LGBTQ community, Jones wrote, “None of these things — or DeSantis’ other controversies — have apparently led to substantial cuts in Trump’s support among primary voters. They’ve simply made DeSantis seem like a creep and a political novice.”

It’s hilarious to me that DeSantis doesn’t understand Trump as a cult leader. He thinks if he just pisses off the same people Trump did politically, Trump’s fans will embrace him. That’s just not how cults work. Trump’s brand has been in the public eye for decades, he has cultivated a lifelong image that appeals to idiots at a visceral level, and he speaks to them in broad abstractions that let his fans decide what he’s really saying. It’s very funny to me that a guy as ‘smart’ as DeSantis can completely misread this dynamic and throw himself headlong against an opponent that doesn’t even have to fight to beat him.