an autocrat facing dozens of ny charges with an ax to grind against the government he seeks to lead. that s a question that republican candidates are either unable to answer or unwilling to answer at this moment. there s now just one major challenger to ex-president trump after florida governor ron desantis dropped out and endorsed donald trump. it s hard to remember but for a time, ron desantis was seen as the much vaunted trump slayer, the one candidate who could break the hold on trump that he had on the voters in the republican party. appeal to those alienated by trump and ultimately beat joe biden. back in 2022, the new yorker asked, can ron desantis displace donald trump as the combatant in chief? the new york times asked, quote, is ron desantis the future of the republican party? but a las as it turned out, voters didn t want a trump alternative, they wanted trump. that became clear as his legal troubles mounted with every indictment the trump got stronger in the pol