Who is more dangerous Donald Trump or Ron DeSantis?

I ask this because for more than seven years Democrats, including myself, have argued that Trump was profoundly unfit to serve as president. It wasn’t just that we opposed his views on the issues, but that he was temperamentally unsuited for the job. He was reckless, combative and dishonest. Unserious, unpredictable, norm-violating and willing to undermine American democracy and its institutions if necessary to stay in power.

I looked forward to the day when we could again fight over the issues with a Republican with whom we only disagreed. Of course we have policy differences, but that is part of the normal democratic process.

But now that such a Republican has emerged, it raises a whole new set of concerns.

DeSantis, who has been governor of Florida since 2019, is not out

–

by

–

control in the same way as Trump. He’s stolen from Trump’s playbook, but he’s more disciplined, more subtle. As president, he would not c

continual

going off-script or berating his enemies;

he shouldn’t have to fend off

of impeachment votes. He could read the briefing documents, operate the system and participate in the

to govern

process. Unlike Trump, he apparently has a voracious work ethic.

But here’s the question: Could those very qualities make him an even more dangerous president? Could he be worse than Trump, God forbid, because he is more effective?

While DeSantis has not yet announced his 2024 candidacy, he already has a campaign pitch: He is the enemy of wakefulness, a boxer who speaks the truth and stands up to the left’s latest hysterical outrages to cancel culture. Don’t say gay! prohibit

C

critical

R

race

T

theory! Learn only the joyful, uplifting parts of American history!

He swears by the usual right-wing truths: more guns, fewer immigrants, lower taxes. He wants to tighten up

limits

about abortions and convenience

them

on executions.

restrict rules

executions. He has given in to vaccine skeptics and claimed that

Dr

Anthony Fauci should be imprisoned for lying to Congress. He has hinted that the January 6

2021,

attack on the Capitol may have been an FBI false flag operation. He’s made it harder to vote in Florida.

So which of the two would I rather have seen victorious in a race for the presidency if I had to choose? The crazy inept or the competent ideologue who just might get it

more

done bad things?

Before I answer, a few caveats:

First,

They are not the only Republicans seeking the 2024 nomination. In the coming months, another candidate could blow past one or both. DeSantis is now high in the polls, but he is little known outside of Florida; he may not survive scrutiny (especially with several major media profiles describing him as an obnoxious and aloof eccentric who cannot make eye contact with other people). And Trump, of course, could self-destruct at any time. Among other things, he could be mentioned in a number of studies.

But if I had to choose, I’d take DeSantis.

Reluctantly, of course. I certainly don’t want him to be our next president.

But in my opinion, the danger he poses is not as great as another four tumultuous, aberrational years of Trump. The damage Trump has done

while in the White House to the country as president

was unparalleled in modern American history, and another four years could be much worse. He may not be a competent or effective chief executive, but his own

his reckless undermining of institutions, his selfish rejection of legitimate election results, his attacks on the press, his attack on truth, facts and science, his detachment from reality, it is impossible to imagine going through that again.

DeSantis would certainly take us down a lot of wrong roads. But one

nothing

The Trump presidency poses a threat to American democracy itself.

Some observers agree with my view.

Ultimately, I’d prefer a cynic like DeSantis to a lunatic like Trump, says longtime GOP adviser Mike Murphy, who has advised many moderate Republicans, including John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. From a Democrat’s perspective, Trump may be easier to beat, but who wants to risk rooting for him?

Others, however, raise their hands to even make such a choice.

It’s like a debate over which is better syphilis or gonorrhea, says Norman Ornstein, a scholar emeritus at the American Enterprise Institute and a longtime Trump critic. Trump and DeSantis are different versions of the same danger.

Ornstein says so

a second term would be all about retaliation for Trump, punishing those who had offended him

i

n the past. It would be a godsend for Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Hungary’s Viktor Orbn and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un.

But DeSantis would be a catastrophe in other ways. I don’t think he has any deep-seated beliefs about anything,” says Ornstein. He may not be on the same level of narcissistic sociopath as Trump, but he is smarter and more subtle. And he has no moral core.

It’s way too early for the polls to mean much, and if anything, they’ve given mixed messages on whether DeSantis or Trump is ahead. All we know for sure is that they are the top two GOP prospects right now.

As a Democrat, I have no say in which of them will emerge victorious in the Republican primary (if any of them do). I’m just a spectator.

But I believe in the danger of a Trump victory in November 2024

would be is

taller.

I reserve the right to change my mind as we get to know DeSantis better and see him in action. But if he

appears to be

worse than Trump, then I really fear for this country.

@Nick_Goldberg