Vivek ran the campaign DeSantis should have run: he raised his national profile and ingratiated himself to Trump voters while bringing up important issues to the forefront. He drove the conversation. He reaped all the secondary benefits. This is all because he accepted that there was no way to beat Trump. It may be true that, as some people reported, he was hoping Trump would have to drop out due to legal troubles and he'd scoop up MAGA voters - who knows.

DeSantis never accepted Trump as the inevitable nominee, took a shot at the king, and missed. Now he's saddled with the image of platform lifts in his boots.

People actually LIKE Trump as a person and Trump shows that he also likes THEM. This is truly an invaluable quality in politics. You can't say the same about any other candidate in the 21st century, including all other current competitors.