DeSantis’s Unconvincing Iran Flip-Flop

Politics The Florida governor’s criticism is undercut by a long paper trail of Iran hawkery. Republicans were eviscerated in an election President Donald Trump and his opponents saw as a referendum on his second term. The outcome bodes ill for the GOP, which now faces strong Democratic majorities in Congress and the prospect of endless investigations and legislative stonewalling. One prominent Republican with an eye for 2028 decided to attack the president’s record just before the midterms. In an interview with Stephen A. Smith, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis lambasted the Iran War and other failures of the administration. “We just got to be honest. Gas is higher. It hurts people, working-class people, and it’s higher because of this conflict. That’s just a fact,” DeSantis said. He continued his criticism of the White House in a press conference after the Tuesday massacre, chastising the president and the GOP for poor messaging and not delivering on their promises. It’s a clear sign DeSantis plans to run in 2028 and wants to pitch himself, once again, as a Trump critic from the right. Central to that pitch will be the Iran War. Unlike anyone in the administration, DeSantis bears no responsibility for it. He can present himself as a critic, without the awkwardness of having been in the meetings at which Operation Epic Fury was planned. It’s a smart move—but it also contrasts with his past hawkery on the issue. DeSantis knows he needs to change his tune to be a viable candidate for ’28. Republicans lost big because of the disastrous war, and many within the GOP base want someone who can deliver the truth. But the governor’s past stances may undermine this pitch. He’s not exactly a consistent non-interventionist. In his previous presidential bid, DeSantis sought to distinguish himself as a stronger hawk than Trump on the Islamic Republic. This was a central theme of a speech he delivered to Christians United for Israel in 2023, for example, and it featured consistently in his foreign policy messaging. His campaign website promised to “turn the screws on Iran beginning on Day 1—abandoning the naïve, disastrous Obama-Biden foreign policies.” The Florida governor even attacked Trump for offering mild criticism of Benjamin Netanyahu in the fall of 2023, saying it was “absurd that anyone, much less someone running for President, would choose now to attack our friend and ally, Israel.” DeSantis made this rift a major part of his campaign and kept hammering Trump about it. It didn’t work, with one Republican operative saying it made him “look like members of the Lincoln Project to the base right now.” DeSantis’s ’24 bid earned the support of many influencers and commentators who still defend the Iran War. That included none other than THE Iran War supporter, Mark Levin. Levin’s stepson worked on pro-Israel outreach for DeSantis’s gubernatorial and presidential campaigns. Unsurprisingly, Levin hosted DeSantis on his show several times throughout the primary to discuss the governor’s strong support for Israel. Much of DeSantis’s online network that was devoted to his presidential campaign is now devoted to supporting the Iran War. DeSantis praised Operation Epic Fury when it first began, arguing that it was delivering justice for Americans killed during the Iraq War. “As somebody who was over in Iraq at that time, that saw the casualties, that saw that it was the Iranians behind it. They never really faced justice,” he said in March. “Now... all the ayatollahs are dropping like flies.” He also backed bombing Iran last year, saying Trump showed “decisiveness.” He claimed military action against the Islamic Republic was necessary because of the state’s “apocalyptic, radical ideology.” The only way to deter the regime was through bombings. DeSantis’s pitch as a Iran War critic will also be hampered by his rabid support for Israel. He famously signed bills to target “antisemitism,” in Jerusalem, twice. He sent weapons to Israel during its war in Gaza. He has even claimed America wouldn’t exist without Israel being the cradle of Western civilization. These opinions are supported by his pro-Israel donors, a number of whom want America to back the Jewish state’s annexation of Gaza and the West Bank. It’s also worth recalling that the Florida governor initially sought to position himself as a staunch non-interventionist in the ’24 primary, at least when it came to regions outside the Middle East. He told Tucker Carlson in early 2023 that defending Ukraine was not a key security interest for America. But after receiving backlash from donors, he walked back those comments. There’s a chance he could reverse himself again in the ’28 primary. DeSantis is a smart politician. One doesn’t become the most successful Republican governor in the country without some brains. He knows which way the wind is blowing, and he understands that the Iran War offers an opportunity to align himself with the majority of Americans. It sets him apart from potential rivals currently serving in the admin, who can’t easily shed their association with the conflict. It also differentiates him from Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who is loud and proud about his support for the war. DeSantis has the freedom to openly criticize the war and other admin failures, creating the distance between himself and Trump that may be necessary for any Republican to win in 2028. Subscribe Today Get daily emails in your inbox But he will still face the challenge of convincing the public that he’s a genuine critic of the war and foreign interventionism more broadly. It’s easy to say the war hurt Republicans. Even Vice President J.D. Vance and Trump say that. It’s hard to prove DeSantis will avoid similar catastrophes as president when he’s on record championing military action against Iran. That DeSantis can recognize reality and understand the GOP’s predicament are positive signs. The base may be ready for a clean break from Trump in the primary, and someone who vows to keep the good things about the admin and ditch the bad would be a strong contender. To do so, a candidate will have to convince the public that he will learn from Trump’s mistakes and avoid harebrained foreign interventions. After the midterms, it’s clear voters want a different direction. That’s something even an Iran hawk can recognize.