I love Trump's chutzpah and how he gave voice to us Little People. He was the right man at the right time from a spiritual perspective. And he did wonders for the federal judiciary. DeSantis lacks that charisma. Noted.
But from a personnel perspective, he was tripping over coffee table after coffee table. And I disagree that DeSantis would be just as bad - Florida isn't D.C., but I haven't heard of a stream of bad personnel decisions emanating from Tallahassee. And DeSantis is getting things done that'll have lasting impact. Many are tiring of a poke in the eye that makes us warm for 3 days while a vaxx mandate is enacted.
The best explanation, is that Trump could defeat the sharks in real estate, but in DC he needed an exorcist, not Chief Brody. If Trump would acknowledge and fix this Achilles and put a sock in it, he'd own the nomination. Instead, he's effectively putting himself in for a real primary dogfight.
How many of DeSantis' appointees in Tallahassee required U.S. Senate confirmation?
Trump's biggest problem in D.C. is that nobody in his circle of associates would ever want to work in that dump.
DeSantis' biggest problem in D.C. would be that his appointees would all be people who WANT to work there -- for the wrong reasons.