Why Trump Defeated DeSantis

Trump's Charisma Trumps Striver DeSantis

As voters head to the polls in New Hampshire today, Nikki "Nimbra" Haley remains the last major Trump opponent standing, after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis dropped out of the race on Sunday. Below, our pseudonymous friend Mocha, hostess of the Temple of Friendship podcast, offers her thoughts on why Trump trumped DeSantis. Following that, we'll close with a brief trading note. 

Everyone Hates Strivers

Ron DeSantis was supposed to be a star. A very successful governor of a large state, an outspoken critic of critical race theory and gender ideology, he projected competence and fighting spirit people in DC desperately wanted in a politician. “He can beat Trump and bring some sanity back.“, they said. With people like Christopher Rufo on his side, DeSantis was going to be unstoppable. And yet something went horribly wrong. As soon as DeSantis got in front of the cameras it became apparent that all the competence in the world could not make up for his utter lack of charisma. DeSantis was stiff, awkward, and visibly physically uncomfortable while interacting with voters. He ended up dropping out of the race after losing Iowa by 30 points.

Why weren’t people who get paid to talk about politics able to see that he would not resonate with voters? Why were they so eager to throw Trump under the bus? I blame their inability to appreciate Trump for the force of nature that he is on a striver mindset that often defines Trump critics. That same mindset is also largely responsible for the decadence we experience today.

You might say, “but everyone likes the guy who works hard, why are you so anti striver?” Let me elaborate. You are right: America was built by charismatic, industrious types that worked hard and knew what they wanted and took risks to get it.  However, that’s not what strivers do. Strivers are parasites. In the recent movie Saltburn, the scheming, middle-class striver named Oliver calls himself a vampire because his goal is to suck the essence out of things and people. Patricia Highsmith wrote a series of books on a middle-class striver named Tom Ripley that inspired the various movie adaptations, the most famous of which is the 1999 classic, The Talented Mr. Ripley [You can listen to Mocha's podcast on that movie here.

]. One thing that unites the strivers in these adaptations is that they are motivated by a simultaneous hatred and love of the people whose skin they want to wear: charismatic men who are unapologetically themselves, types like Dickie Greenleaf in Anthony Minghella’s film.

Everyone likes industrious and larger-than-life people who want to succeed, have actual talent, and don’t really care about what others think about them, but that’s not what strivers do. They are obsessed with status signifiers and fetishize the markings of wealth without actually making anything of value, just like our PMC class. Industrious people rise above the norms and conventions of their time – Musk buying X was an act of flagrant elite rebellion, going against everything people in his class are supposed to hold dear – whereas strivers can only thrive in a highly-controlled environment, as they all buy into elite liberal ideology.

Rhett Butler is an industrious type who simply doesn’t give a shit, Tom Ripley is a striver who desperately wants to fit in. Think of Hillary types, who went to all the right schools and made money by being in proximity and having access to wealthy people without ever producing anything of value themselves, grade grubber, teacher’s pet type, people who are mostly responsible for decadence and stagnation of society.

Ron DeSantis and people who supported him deeply resent charismatic, industrious types like Donald Trump. People like Pedro Gonzales will forever feel angry and resentful because Trump’s natural charisma and power simply matter to voters more than some gay and stupid policy proposals written by DC strivers. Charisma is the most powerful force in the universe. It is more important than high IQ, hard work and even beauty. The thing about charisma is that you either have it or you don’t and it is impossible to fake; those who do have that powerful presence own the world and it is one thing that haters can never forgive them for. Donald is America itself. Industrious, charismatic and unapologetically himself he embodies the spirit that made this country the greatest country in the world better than anyone else.

We are experiencing a period of great stagnation and decadence because everyone is afraid of taking risks and no one truly believes in themselves. You have to believe in yourself with almost religious fanaticism and want something really badly in order to make things happen. Every great man in history believed that he was destined for greatness. Confident people who know their worth are to be admired not frowned upon. Trump simply wills things into existence and people love him for it.

Let’s make America industrious and charismatic again!

A Very Bullish Bet

In our post yesterday (Biden's Cynical Pre-Election Border Plan), we mentioned we had two bearish options bets on companies releasing earnings before today's open. Both of those stocks were moving in our direction (down) in the pre-market. Today, we've got a very bullish options bet on a company releasing earnings tomorrow. This stock is currently oversold (with an RSI of 25), so a positive earnings surprise could lead to a big move. If you'd like a heads up when we place that trade later today, be sure to subscribe to our trading Substack/occasional email list below. 

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