"The fundamental mistake in DeSantis’ media strategy was believing, at this late date, that there’s any power center on the American right with the political juice to normalize harsh criticism of Trump among Republican voters. When he complains about Fox News hosts and conservative talk radio stars refusing to criticize the former president, he’s indulging the fantasy that the base is still reachable if only some critical mass of “influencers” would simply muster the nerve to speak frankly. Which is rich, given that DeSantis also still won’t speak perfectly frankly about Trump himself." - Nick Catoggio

"One can’t help but notice that the right track/wrong track gap began widening as online political commentary took off after 9/11. Partisan outlets on both sides have solidified “a feeling of permacrisis,” in Thompson’s words, which is certainly true of right-wing media. And no one seems better suited to thrive in a politics of permacrisis than Trump—the “American carnage” candidate, the messianic strongman, the law-and-order authoritarian, the demagogue forever warning of the country’s downfall if he isn’t immediately returned to power." - Nick Catoggio

"In short, to beat Trump, DeSantis would need a time machine... I’d probably turn the dial back to the early 1990s, though, and try to come up with a clever plan to overhaul or short-circuit the entire “conservative media” project. In hindsight, a culture of perpetual permacrisis could only lead to an appetite among populist voters for a candidate as foul and illiberal as Trump. Or his imitators, like Ron DeSantis." - Nick Catoggio

"The governor and his aides bear plenty. The Republican base, afflicted with appalling cultishness, bears most of it. Insofar as the media is culpable, their guilt stems from how they promoted Trump incessantly in 2016. That helped create the conditions for the cult to flourish; now that it has, we’re all forced to live with it. We should prepare to spend the next few months seeing DeSantis fans and assorted other anti-anti-Trumpers blame the press for his failure, though. That’s not because (or not just because) the governor’s admirers will be loath to admit their disappointment in him. It’s because partisans desperate for an excuse to stick with this repulsive party even after it’s tripled down on Trump will need a way to exculpate Republican voters for their terrible choice." - Nick Catoggio