After former President Donald Trump made plain his intentions by announcing in November 2022 that he would seek re-election to the White House in 2024, a growing number of Republicans have gradually entered the race. Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley was the first to speak, followed by others. Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, was always considered a potential candidate, but he was initially reticent.

With DeSantis’ recent announcement that he will indeed run for the Republican presidential nomination, the man who was formerly viewed as a potential vice presidential candidate, ally, and possible junior version of Trump is now casting himself as the more conservative candidate and taking aim at specific Trump policies.

Some have questioned where DeSantis falls on the policy spectrum. Chief Editor of the National Pulse, Raheem Kassam, provided additional criticism of the DeSantis campaign to date.

Raheem Kassam on DeSantis 2024: "They're wearing the skin suit of MAGA. If you think it started off as a shadow campaign, it's only going towards being a shell campaign." pic.twitter.com/5ajesRXdn7

— Becker News (@NewsBecker) May 26, 2023

“They’re wearing the skin suit of MAGA,” Kassam argued. “If you think it started off as a shadow campaign, it’s only going towards being a shell campaign.”

While DeSantis has been vocal this week about the differences he sees between himself and the former president, he is also attempting to copy Trump, as evidenced by his use of a phrase that most Americans associate with the current president.

DeSantis attempted to capitalize on Trump’s signature catchphrase in a video statement. In contrast to Trump’s delivery, however, DeSantis faltered when delivering “You’re fired,” the Trump catchphrase from The Apprentice.

“I don’t know what happened to Donald Trump, he is a different guy today than when he was running in 2015 and 2016, and I think the direction he’s going with his campaign is the wrong direction,” DeSantis said. “You’ve got to know how to use your leverage to advance what you’re trying to accomplish.”

“What I was able to bring to the governor’s office was an understanding of how a constitutional form of government operates, the various pressure points that exist, and the best way to leverage authority to achieve substantive policy victories,” he continued.

“Presidents have not been willing to wield Article Two power to discipline the bureaucracy,” DeSantis added. “I’ll come in and on day one we’ll be spitting nails.”

Despite distancing himself from Trump on policy matters, DeSantis chose to imitate Trump: “If I’m president, if somebody like Fauci is in the government, I’ll bring them in and tell them two things:

He’s copied everything else about Trump, why not steal from The Apprentice: “If I’m president, if somebody like Fauci is in the govt, I will bring them in, and I will tell them two things:

You. Are fired.” pic.twitter.com/HLVEJxH59G

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) May 26, 2023

“If I’m president, if somebody like Fauci is in the government, I will bring them in, and I will tell them two things: You. Are fired.”

His attempt to resemble Trump while opposing Trump’s policies is likely to confuse voters evaluating the Republican playing field.

Trump immediately fired back on social media after DeSantis appropriated his catchphrase, referring to DeSantis as “Rob DeSanctimonious” and criticizing his declining poll numbers.

“Rob’ DeSanctimonious and his poll numbers are dropping like a rock,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I would almost be inclined to say these are record falls. The question is Rob just young and inexperienced and naive or more troubling, is he a fool who has no idea what the hell he’s doing?” he continued. “We already have one of those in office, we don’t need another one. We need MAGA.”

Trump has been vocal about DeSantis’ areas of ineptitude and his role in DeSantis’ ascent to the position of Florida governor. The former president has discussed the impact of his support for DeSantis during his campaign for governor.

“He was not going to be able to even factor in the race, and so soon as I endorsed him, within moments the race was over,” Trump said last fall. ” I got him the nomination. He didn’t get it, I got it. Because the minute I made that endorsement, he got it.”

The New York Times cited polls indicating that DeSantis’ popularity is significantly lower than Trump’s, with DeSantis at approximately 20% compared to Trump’s 50%.

While DeSantis enjoys a superior rating in polls conducted by the New York Times among all Americans, Trump is far ahead among Republicans, with DeSantis “falling below 30 percent in recent weeks” as Donald Trump has gained strength in the Republican primary race.

The other Republican nomination challengers Nikki Haley, Mike Pence, Ted Cruz, Ryan Binkley, Larry Elder, Asa Hutchinson, Perry Johnson, Vivek Ramaswamy, Tim Scott, Doug Burgum, Kristi Noem, Mike Rogers, Chris Sununu, Greg Abbott, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, Glenn Younkin, Tom Cotton, Larry Hogan, Mike Pompano, and Rick Scott, remain low in the polls shown by NYT.

While it does not appear that any of these candidates can compete with Trump or DeSantis, they are all viable vice-presidential candidates, a position that some believed DeSantis was best suited for.