The US president and leader of the Democratic Party, Joe Biden, is set to make his official announcement on Monday regarding his decision to run for a second term as president. According to US media reports, this will have special symbolic significance, as it will occur precisely four years after he announced the launch of his first campaign, back in 2019.
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Immediately after Independence Day, Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis, 45, will come to Jerusalem. He will stay here for less than a day, during which he is scheduled to meet with President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Foreign Minister Eli Cohen. DeSantis is due to deliver the keynote address at the Jerusalem Post conference to be held at the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem. He will be accompanied by dozens of businessmen from Florida, with a view to bolstering the business ties between the Sunshine State and Israel.
DeSantis, who has already promised to be "the most pro-Israel governor in America", has brought about a 65% increase in trade between Florida and Israel. He has also passed anti-BDS laws, has fought against Airbnb's intended effort to remove ads for vacation apartments in Judea and Samaria, and has also adopted a whole string of actions to strengthen the Jewish community in Florida.
Having said that, his decision to arrive in Israel on its 75th Independence Day was made with his sights set on a much greater target. Just like Biden, DeSantis has not yet officially announced his decision to run, but his trip to Israel is clearly a step on the path to conquering the White House. DeSantis is in effect the first presidential candidate of the 2024 elections to come to Israel, and the regal reception he will be extended will correspond with this. Apart from Israel, his international whistle-stop tour is due to take in Japan, South Korea, and Britain. The trip, as is the accepted norm among presidential candidates, is intended to bolster their image and create for them the profile of an international leader. The fact that this involves a leading Republican Party politician and is to occur on Israel's annual national holiday only serves to underscore the importance of this visit.
The popular feeling among Republican activists is that about two weeks after the visit, sometime in the first third of May, the governor will officially launch his run for president. DeSantis will now reach his announcement from an inferior standpoint than two months ago, for two key reasons:
Firstly, the trial against the former president, Donald Trump. DeSantis was lagging in the polls behind Trump, even prior to this, but the gap was then much smaller. The trial has boosted Trump's status among the GOP hardcore, while forcing the party's senior figures, who have genuine reservations about the former fiery redheaded president, to speak out in his defense. Just like former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett voiced strong criticism of the Netanyahu family at the time, even though he sought to replace him, the same is true of DeSantis and Trump.
The second obstacle weighing him down is the bill banning abortions that he recently signed into law in Florida. Florida's Republican-dominated legislature decided that women would be prohibited from terminating their pregnancy commencing from the sixth week, unless the pregnancy was due to rape or other extenuating circumstances. Though he could have vetoed the legislation, DeSantis chose not to. By banning abortions at such an early stage of pregnancy, DeSantis has drawn much flak from within his party. He is expected to claim in response to this criticism that every state within the US is entitled to forge its own abortion legislation, precisely as prescribed by the 2022 Supreme Court decision, overturning the famous Roe v. Wade ruling. This answer may or may not convince the critics.
Regardless of that particular thorny issue, it is pretty safe to say that among all the 'pretenders to the throne', DeSantis is the only one with any real chance of beating Trump in the race to be elected as Republican Party presidential candidate. In contrast to Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and others who can barely scrape together 5% support, DeSantis usually hits the 25% barrier, and sometimes even tops that. However, this is still a significant distance from the support enjoyed by Trump. According to the polls, more than half of the Republicans would like to see Trump have a third shot at making president. But, outsiders have won the race before, so you never can tell. Perhaps his trip to the Holy Land will generate some miracles for the young governor.
Although serving presidents enjoy the automatic support of their party for a second term of office, Biden's renewed campaign is accompanied by serious concern of numerous senior Democrats, who are worried about the advanced age of the octogenarian president and the noticeable effects of age on his ability to function.
Biden has essentially been managing a campaign schedule for several months now, including more and more on-site tours across the US in order to connect with base support. It is interesting to note that while the US president refuses to meet with the prime minister of Israel and has even refrained from sending a senior representative to take part in Israel's 75th Independence Day celebrations, the most senior American figure to come to Israel will be the GOP's rising star and Governor of Florida – Ron DeSantis, the man who could well be Biden's bitter Republican rival in the race for the White House.
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