He should have waited his turn and ran in 2028. He grossly underestimated MAGA loyalty to President Trump.
This mistake has cost him in several ways:
1) It is obviously a huge turn-off to MAGA Trump supporters.
2) It signals a tone-deafness, even non-Trump supporters are concerned.
3) He can’t address the two-tiered Justice problem without helping Trump.
4) His challenge either weakens MAGA or makes an enemy of MAGA - either way, he’s scuttled his 2028 chances.
Running now signals strength from DeSantis. He’s running on his conservative record and doesn’t back down. The people that won’t support now won’t support him later.