I have heard and read many critiques of Ron DeSantis and his form of governing. Never-Trumpers and Conservatives do not understand Ron’s form of governance. First off, stop wishing Ron DeSantis were conservative; he is, in fact, an America First populist. Ron is not a small government type in a traditional way. The governor uses the government to slap back at Progressivism and all of its ilk. Instead of standing on a political mountain complaining about how big government has taken over everything, Ron takes that same-sized government and turns it against his political enemies.

Ron DeSantis believes that shrinking government is impossible now, but using that big government to fight a Marxist slide is possible. His governance of Florida proves that Ron’s form of Republicanism is superior to the ways of the establishment. Any categorization of Ron DeSantis or measuring him by Bush/Romney standards is folly. That part of the Republican Party was killed off forever by the MAGA Movement.

Once the Trump Presidency is over, Ron DeSantis would be a better torchbearer than J.D. Vance or any other Republican politician. Ron DeSantis did the impossible; he flipped the bluest counties in all of Florida. Ron DeSantis won Dade and Palm Beach County, which for a Republican was unimaginable. Ron is the logical future for the Republican Party and gives the right wing a chance to win the popular vote nationwide. J. D. Vance, however, is MAGA, and Ron DeSantis is America First. The difference is that MAGA only has the base; America First brings in independents and even some Democrats.

Ron DeSantis has been misunderstood and miscategorized by both his critics on the left and skeptics on the right. Never-Trumpers insist on squeezing him into the mold of Bush-era conservatism, while even many conservatives wish he would adhere to the small-government ideals of the Reagan era. Both miss the point entirely. DeSantis is not trying to revive the old conservatism of limited government, nor is he a simple continuation of the Trumpian populist surge. He represents something new, something that blends populist energy with the machinery of governance in a uniquely aggressive way: an America First populist model of power.

Unlike the libertarian-leaning conservatives of the past, who lamented government expansion but rarely shrank it, DeSantis accepts the modern state as a reality. He recognizes that government is not going away, it is too large, too entrenched, and too powerful. The question then becomes: who will wield it? Rather than complaining from the sidelines about federal and cultural overreach, DeSantis has demonstrated in Florida that government can be repurposed and redirected against the forces pushing the country leftward. Progressivism’s long march through institutions has relied on government power, regulatory capture, and cultural leverage. DeSantis’ innovation is to meet that power with equal force, deploying the state to fight back rather than retreat.

This is where his philosophy departs from both the old establishment and pure MAGA populism. Establishment Republicans like Bush or Romney preferred corporate alignment and “respectable” conservatism, essentially conceding cultural battles while hoping tax cuts and deregulation would suffice. Trump shattered that model with raw populism, rallying a base that felt abandoned. Yet Trumpism has often been more about movement energy and symbolic defiance than disciplined governance. DeSantis, however, has fused populist instincts with a lawyer’s precision and an executive’s discipline. He not only fights the left rhetorically, he crafts policies, passes laws, and uses the machinery of government to back up his words.

Florida under DeSantis has become the proof of concept. He flipped Miami-Dade and Palm Beach, long considered unwinnable for Republicans, by showing that a bold, America First agenda can appeal not only to the GOP base but also to independents, Hispanics, working-class voters, and even disaffected Democrats. This electoral accomplishment cannot be overstated. Winning Miami-Dade is not just a Florida story; it’s a roadmap for a broader national realignment. It demonstrates that America First populism can break the Democrats’ hold on urban and minority-heavy regions if it is coupled with results-driven governance.

In this sense, DeSantis is not merely a “mini-Trump” or a placeholder for MAGA. He is the evolution of it. Trump brought the energy; DeSantis channels it into a governing philosophy that can endure beyond the cult of personality. J.D. Vance and others may inherit Trump’s MAGA mantle, but MAGA alone is limited to the base. America First populism, as DeSantis envisions it, is scalable; it seeks to capture the popular vote by building a coalition that expands outward rather than doubling down on the base alone.

For the future of the Republican Party, this distinction is critical. If the GOP reverts to establishment conservatism, it dies. If it remains only a MAGA base party, it risks being permanently boxed in by demographics and media narratives. But if the party adopts the DeSantis model, using government to fight the left on cultural and institutional grounds while appealing to independents with tangible results, it becomes a viable national majority party again.

That is why DeSantis, not Vance, who has never run so much as a hot dog stand, or any other Republican figure, is the logical heir to the Trump era. He represents not just resistance, but governance; not just populist anger, but populist effectiveness. In short, he is the rare figure who both fights and wins.

C. Rich

C. Rich is the voice behind America Speaks Ink, home to the America First Movement. As an author, freelance ghostwriter, poet, and blogger, C. Rich brings a “baked-in” perspective shaped by growing up on the streets and beaches of South Florida in the 1970s-1980s and brings a quintessential Generation-X point of view.

Rich’s writing journey began in 2008 with coverage of the Casey Anthony trial and has since evolved into a wide-ranging exploration of politics, culture, and the issues that define our times. Follow C. Rich’s writing odyssey here at America Speaks Ink and on Amazon with a multi-book series on Donald Trump called “Trump Era: The MAGA Files” and many other books and subjects C. Rich is known to cover.  CRich@AmericaSpeaksInk.com

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