Ron DeSantis is well aware that he needs to remain disciplined when attacking Donald Trump, lest he alienate the “soft Trump” voters who will decide the GOP nominee for president. Regardless of the merits of the attack, DeSantis cannot come out on the debate stage and muse about how Trump is an “unprecedented threat to our democracy,” as Amanda Carpenter advises at CNN, without destroying his campaign. Instead, he needs to go after Trump in ways that are palatable to Republican voters. Thus far, this has meant attacking Trump for not firing Anthony Fauci, for initiating the Covid lockdowns, and for failing to stop the march of “gender ideology.” But these attacks have proven effective only to a limited extent.
I must confess, though, that there’s a certain line of attack that seems so fitting for the situation that I’m somewhat bewildered that DeSantis has yet to employ it. The only reasonable explanation would be that he’s saving it for a big moment.
It has to do with nothing less than the signature policy promise of Trump’s 2016 campaign. It cuts straight to his prioritization of rhetoric over policy. It’s regarding an issue that Republican voters care about dearly. And it centers on a reality that is easily digestible: Trump didn’t build the border wall.
With a political rise so tied to concerns over illegal immigration, it’s remarkable that Trump has faced so little reckoning for his failure to deliver anything approaching a permanent solution; illegal border crossings hit an all-time high in 2022. Though Trump was out of office by then, the number would obviously have been lower had the wall been completely built, not just partly expanded and upgraded. And Trump’s failure to build it is particularly pertinent as recent reports reveal that the Biden administration is auctioning off unused steel beams intended for the wall. Had Trump put these beams in the ground, of course, they might have helped quell the continuing crisis at the southern border.
Attacking Trump for his failure to build the wall is also the type of reproval particularly fitting for tomorrow’s debate. It’s a policy failure that’s easy to grasp, implicates Trump regarding his signature campaign promise, and highlights the need for a candidate who delivers real policy wins. And because the former president isn’t attending the debate, there’s also an opportunity for a DeSantis quip about how both Trump and the border wall he promised are AWOL. It’s tailor-made for DeSantis and for the moment.
It’s been apparent that the number of ways to attack Trump without turning off GOP voters is limited. But it’s hard to imagine Republicans being that upset that DeSantis would prioritize real solutions for the situation at the southern border as opposed to empty promises. Should he do so effectively, DeSantis might find that going after Trump for failing to build the wall is precisely the type of attack that is effective in capturing voters who like Trump but are considering other candidates — the voters DeSantis needs most. Let’s hope that come tomorrow evening, he seizes the opportunity.