Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) has not made much headway in his GOP presidential primary campaign, but he may have gained a few supporters when he reiterated on Friday to a reporter that he would pardon former President Donald Trump if he is convicted of any of the 91 separate charges he faces on four indictments. 

DeSantis's statement came when a reporter from NBC News asked him about pardoning Trump and he said he had addressed the question "long ago."

“Yeah, I said that months ago," when the reporter pressed him to confirm that he would pardon Trump.

"I think we got to move on as a country and, you know, like Ford did to Nixon, because the divisions are just not in the country’s interest," he said.

A DeSantis downturn

A spokesperson also confirmed DeSantis's intention to pardon Trump when a reporter again asked if DeSantis would pardon Trump. "Correct," the spokesperson said.

Although Trump endorsed DeSantis for his first governor's race in 2018, which he narrowly won, animosity between the two has grown since DeSantis decided to run against Trump in the primary.

DeSantis had about 30% of the vote before prosecutors began indicting Trump left and right, but he is now down closer to 12% in most polls as voters have wanted to show solidarity with Trump.

It probably doesn't help that Trump began mocking DeSantis, calling him "DeSanctimonious" and accusing him of being wrong in his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The right thing to do

Pardoning Trump would be the right thing to do, since prosecutors are blatantly targeting him to try to keep him from being re-elected.

It's unlikely DeSantis will need to worry about doing so, however, since his chances of winning the GOP primary are infinitesimal right now.

It's too bad, because DeSantis could have provided some things general election voters have said they really want: a younger candidate, one that is concerned with parents' rights over their own children, and one who would be tough on the border and help the economy--all without the baggage Trump (rightfully or wrongfully) has.

A majority of GOP voters don't seem to agree, however, and insist that Trump is the candidate they want despite (or maybe because of) his baggage.

Many fears

A fear of some in the GOP is that Trump will not get enough independent and Democrat support to be elected.

Similarly, Democrats worry that President Joe Biden will continue to weaken in his support due to his age and perception of his policies, and will give Trump a victory despite the general dislike of him by many.