DeSantis cracks down on election campaign false start – one-third of team fired End of heat in Greece approaching – but fires continue to rage

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis reportedly fires a third of his campaign team after a false start to the US primary. After several layoffs in the past week, the 44-year-old has now laid off 38 of his employees, multiple media outlets reported on Tuesday. The move is seen as an attempt by the arch-conservative to restructure his team after DeSantis trailed far behind his party rival, former US President Donald Trump, in polls.

DeSantis went into the election campaign with the image of the right-wing doer and, after a brilliant run for reelection in Florida in the fall, was considered Trump’s leading Republican opponent. However, a string of poor performances and the botched announcement of his candidacy via a Twitter audio stream cast doubt on DeSantis’ fitness for the state’s highest office.

Furthermore, despite his ideological affinity with DeSantis, Trump has repeatedly attacked DeSantis and tried to turn his base against him. However, DeSantis would need this to stand a chance in next year’s race against US President Joe Biden. Trump seems to be the most promising Republican candidate right now – but the many legal problems and indictments could spell the ex-president’s downfall. (sda/dpa)