The anti-war, isolationist, non-interventionist position is the one aspect of populism that appeals to pretty much everyone outside the elite, even across party lines, and yet it is the first one that DeSantis seems to have backpedaled on. Whatever he's doing, it's the opposite of trying to appeal to the mainstream voter. A significant amount of Trump's continued popularity stems from the fact that he is the only President in the past century who didn't involve the US in yet another war, and actually took steps to end ongoing military involvement overseas.