The Battle for the Top of the MAGA Empire

There was a period of time recently in which one out of every seven new COVID-19 infections was coming out of Florida, a state whose governor, Ron DeSantis, vehemently opposes mask mandates and compulsory vaccinations.  OK, but DeSantis graduated from Harvard University; is it possible he doesn’t understand the efficacy of these tools in the battle against the disease?

Of course not.

But climbing the political ladder in the Republican Party means taking this anti-science, MAGA position.  In the video below, former Republican strategist Steve Schmidt points out that, for now at least, Trump is the king of the MAGA world, and that all power-hungry politicians need to adhere to his positions and policies, regardless of how asinine and outright dangerous they may be.

Schmidt likens this to Saudi Arabia, where the king is surrounded by lots of crowned princes, each aspiring to the throne.  Getting there means compromising one’s integrity to curry favor of the monarch.