“Quite frankly, you either become one of them or you get the Trump treatment.”
(whoops, too busy on my tag line)
Anyway, if DeSantis had stayed with his 1.0 version, he would have still been competitive with Trump, and even getting the Trump treatment wouldn’t have mattered, as the two of them would have crowded out the rest of the field.
Yes it would have, DeSantis did not want the Trump treatment. If you join them, you have funding and become part of the club. I doubt he really wanted to run. He just won Governor. He was approached by the GOPd (devils) and promised the moon if he ran. Trump had to go.
If you could be approached by those who are against Trump at the top and behind both parties, you would have a realistic view of what you are up against.