President Joe Biden, facing growing climate unrest across the country, made a low-key pitch during his visit to California last week. This visit was aimed at securing support for his climate change initiatives ahead of the crucial global climate summit in Glasgow this year.
However, as the 2024 presidential race starts to take shape, a Democrat author of Stress Test: How Donald Trump Threatens American Democracy, William Cooper, has made an unusual case for the Republican governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis. According to Cooper, DeSantis is more competent than both Trump and Biden, making him a better choice as the next president of the United States.
Cooper highlights that DeSantis, unlike Biden and Trump, has passed the litmus test for the presidency due to his competence. He is a Harvard and Yale-educated lawyer who served in the Navy, including on a tour in Iraq, before becoming Florida’s governor. Moreover, DeSantis has effectively achieved his objectives in Florida regarding both politics and policy.
As per Cooper, competence is the most important quality required in a U.S. president to address the biggest questions facing the country, including global rivalry, regulation of artificial intelligence, international economy complications and so on. He argues that DeSantis, a 44-year-old Navy veteran, skillfully runs his state and would be better at the helm in a global crisis than Biden or Trump.
However, this argument by Cooper reduces politics to purely aesthetic, ignoring any policies that DeSantis has pursued in Florida. There is no mention that Biden has skillfully managed an international crisis, or that DeSantis has spent most of the last two years losing a war against Disney.
As the 2024 election approaches, it will be interesting to see if Cooper’s argument holds sway with voters, or if they prioritize policies and accomplishments over a purported image of competence. Ultimately, who becomes the next president will depend on whether voters believe that competence alone is sufficient to lead the country effectively.
