With Pete Hegseth's nomination as Secretary of Defense reportedly in trouble, Wednesday's edition of CNN This Morning boosted Ron DeSantis for the position.
CNN analyst Alex Thompson called DeSantis a "nerd" and a "wonk." But rather than meaning that pejoratively, Thompson said that members of the Trump team like DeSantis precisely because he is a wonk, and thus someone capable of taking on the Pentagon's sprawling bureaucracy.
CNN VP and analyst Mark Preston looked ahead to the race for the 2028 GOP presidential nomination. He suggested adding the foreign policy chops that would come with service as SecDef to his successful record as Florida governor would put DeSantis in such a strong position that people would be asking, "JD, who?"
That elicited a laugh from host Kasie Hunt, who suggested it wasn't realistic to think that DeSantis doesn't want to run for president again.
My two cents say that even if DeSantis does become SecDef, it would be foolish to write off JD's '28 prospects. Consider:
- In choosing him as his VP, the term-limited Trump in effect crowned Vance as his successor, and should he actually endorse him in '28, that would carry huge weight with MAGA.
- Vance acquitted himself brilliantly during the campaign, not only solidfying himself with the MAGA base, but winning the hearts and minds of many Republicans who might have had doubts when Trump initially chose him.
- Finally, Vance is sure to have many opportunities over the next four years to establish his own foreign policy experience and expertise.
Meanwhile, over on Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough & Co. had great fun mocking Lindsey Graham. They depicted Graham as a Johnny-come-lately to the group of Senators expressing serious reservations about Hegseth's nomination.
Scarborough approvingly quoted someone he described as a "Senate insider" who called Graham, in respect of his recent raising of doubts about Hegseth, a "lagging indicator."
The panel lapped up that label. Willie Geist repeated it, and Katty Kay gushed, "I loved your description of Lindsey Graham as the lagging indicator."
Note: Scarborough has a history of mocking Graham. In the immediate wake of January 6th, Graham had denounced Trump. But according to Scarborough, Graham changed his tune and came out in support of Trump after he was accosted in an airport by a group of angry Trump supporters.
As we noted at the time, calling Graham "a very weak man," Muy Macho Scarborough boasted:
"I tell you what: a couple idiots chase me through the airport, it’s not going to be my problem. It’s going to be theirs."
Ay: que hombre!
Here are the transcripts.
CNN This Morning
12/4/24
6:07 am ETALEX THOMPSON: And Ron DeSantis, you know, despite the tensions between the two, the one thing about DeSantis that I've heard appeals to sort of some of the Trump team: the guy's a nerd. The guy's a wonk. [Kasie Hunt laughs]
KASIE HUNT: And why does it appeal to the Trump team?
THOMPSON: Well, because, the Pentagon is this huge, sprawling bureaucracy, and they feel like maybe he actually would be good for that.
MARK PRESTON: Let me say this: if, if DeSantis does become a Secretary of Defense, I mean, look if he gets to the Senate, he will be confirmed. If he becomes in, we're talking about now a redrawing of what the MAGA political party's going to look like, you know, in a couple of years.
Because now Ron DeSantis is going to be taken out of Florida, where he knows he's been very successful. He's been a successful governor. Now he's going to get that foreign policy background you know, with him. And then it's going to be JD who? [Hunt laughs.] You know, there's going to be [inaudible.]
HUNT: Well, yeah, I mean we're setting up for a, yes, I mean, for DeSantis, definitely some significant steps towards another. The idea that he doesn't want to run for president again is probably, is not, is not realistic.
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MSNBC
Morning Joe
12/4/24
6:10 am ETJONATHAN LEMIRE: We hear from Republicans yesterday as well. Even as Hegseth has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill, that his nomination is in deep danger. There could be six or more Republican senators--you only need four--who are ready to sink his nomination, including Lindsey Graham, who normally goes along with whatever Trump wants.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Hard to see how Pete Hegseth gets through this, and hard to see, especially when Lindsey Graham is saying there are a lot of concerns. One Senate insider laughingly told me, Lindsey's a lagging indicator. This was done some time ago.
. . .
WILLIE GEIST: We heard Senator Lindsey Graham yesterday, probably as Joe said, a lagging indicator, saying this is going to be very difficult for Pete Hegseth. I have a lot of questions for him about his behavior, about his past.
. . .
SCARBOROUGH: Lindsey said this, Senator Graham said this: leadership comes from the top. And I want to make sure that every young woman who joins the military feels respected. That's, and Joni Ernst also said we're going to have a really frank and thorough conversation.
But again, Lindsey Graham --
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Oof.
SCARBOROUGH: -- a conservative from South Carolina, saying we want to make sure every young woman entering the military feels respected. That really does sound like one of the final -- final straws there.
KATTY KAY: I loved your description of Lindsey Graham as the lagging indicator. Certainly not --
SCARBOROUGH: Wasn't mine. Wasn't mine. That was -- that was a source on the Hill who said that.
KAY: We're magpies. We take, we take what we're given. But it was a very good one, yeah.
