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There’s a huge target on the back of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) as he enters the 2024 Republican presidential primary, even though he’s trailing the GOP-favored front-runner.  

While former President Trump is maintaining a commanding, at times double-digit lead in national polls of GOP primary voters, DeSantis has drawn intense criticism from Trump and other contenders, such as former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

Candidates who are hoping to overtake Trump likely will need to peel off a swath of DeSantis’s voters to build their winning coalition, strategists said. 

“He’ll be taking flack from both the front-runner and the lower-tier candidates,” said Alex Conant, who worked on Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) 2016 presidential campaign. 

There is the possibility some candidates are vying for a spot on the ticket with Trump should he win the nomination, or aiming for a Cabinet position in a second Trump administration, though no one running for president would openly admit to doing so.

“Each candidate has their own motives,” Conant said, adding that anyone who wants to beat Trump will eventually have to run against him.

DeSantis has been viewed for months as the most formidable challenger to Trump, consistently running second in national GOP primary polls and even leading Trump in some state-level polling. 

Trump has relentlessly attacked DeSantis, suggesting in recent weeks that the Florida governor shouldn’t even bother getting into the primary race. A Trump-aligned Super PAC on Wednesday released an ad hitting DeSantis for his congressional voting record on entitlements and immigration.

Haley’s campaign on Wednesday released an ad drawing similarities between DeSantis and Trump in terms of policy and personality, at one point featuring a side-by-side video of the two men using similar hand gestures during speeches.

In an interview with Fox News in New Hampshire, Haley accused DeSantis of “copying” Trump.

Ramaswamy, another 2024 candidate officially in the race, has largely avoided going after Trump, framing his candidacy as a way to build on what Trump accomplished. But he has attacked DeSantis at times.

Ramaswamy took a dig at the Florida governor when he did not immediately rally to Trump’s side when the Manhattan District Attorney filed charges against Trump for an alleged hush money scheme, and Ramaswamy has criticized DeSantis for his handling of his feud with Disney.

The Disney battle, which has seen DeSantis aim to strip the company of its self-governing status in Florida and other government exemptions for disagreeing with his stance on state legislation, has also led to criticism from former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Vice President Mike Pence, both of whom are expected to announce their candidacy in the coming weeks.

“Ron DeSantis does not have a natural base. He has a natural base in Florida. So you can attack Ron DeSantis, and it’s not going to hurt you in Iowa or New Hampshire,” said former Speaker and presidential candidate Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.). “But Trump has a real base, and if you attack Trump, you’re alienating Trump’s voters.”

DeSantis’s team has repeatedly argued the frequent attacks against the governor are proof he is viewed as a strong candidate to win the party’s presidential nomination.

Bryan Griffin, a spokesperson for DeSantis’s political team, tweeted this week that the spending by a pro-Trump group on attack ads against the governor provided “all you need to know to draw the obvious conclusion. @RonDeSantis presents the greatest threat to Donald Trump.”

Erin Perrine, a spokesperson for the pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down, said in a recent statement Trump “is scared of Ron DeSantis and has every reason to be,” noting that DeSantis has yet to lose an election.

While Christie and Pence have been willing to take on Trump — the former focusing on personality and the latter zeroing in on policy differences — others have been more reluctant to directly criticize Trump.

Haley and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who also entered the race this week, have often struggled to identify clear policy differences with Trump, instead relying more on arguments about a need for new leadership in the GOP or for more persuasive messaging to win over new voters.

A CNN poll released Wednesday found 53 percent of Republican and Republican-leaning voters listed Trump as their first choice candidate in a primary, with DeSantis in second at 23 percent. Haley and Pence were each the first choice for 6 percent of those surveyed. DeSantis to tour early voting states after glitch-marred campaign launch Frontier Airlines confirms gate agent ‘incentive’ for baggage fees after viral TikToks

The poll found 85 percent of voters said they either support or are open to supporting DeSantis, with 84 percent saying the same about Trump.

While GOP officials expect to see more attacks on DeSantis in the days after he gets into the race, they are adamant that anyone who is serious about overtaking Trump will eventually need to present a direct contrast with the former president, even if it means drawing fire from Trump and his allies.

“Clearly, you have candidates who don’t want to face the wrath of Trump, but that doesn’t change the fundamental dynamic,” said Doug Heye, a Republican strategist. “You’re not going to get the nomination by going around Donald Trump.”

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Politics

Just 25% of public think Sir Keir Starmer will win next election – with welfare row partly to blame

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Just 25% of public think Sir Keir Starmer will win next election - with welfare row partly to blame

Only a quarter of British adults think Sir Keir Starmer will win the next general election, as the party’s climbdown over welfare cuts affects its standing with the public.

A fresh poll by Ipsos, shared with Sky News, also found 63% do not feel confident the government is running the country competently, similar to levels scored by previous Conservative administrations under Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak in July 2022 and February 2023, respectively.

Politics latest: ‘A moment of intense peril’ for PM

The survey of 1,080 adults aged 18-75 across Great Britain was conducted online between 27 and 30 June 2025, when Labour began making the first of its concessions, suggesting the party’s turmoil over its own benefits overhaul is partly to blame.

The prime minister was forced into an embarrassing climbdown on Tuesday night over his plans to slash welfare spending, after it became apparent he was in danger of losing the vote owing to a rebellion among his own MPs.

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Govt makes last-minute concession on welfare bill

The bill that was put to MPs for a vote was so watered down that the most controversial element – to tighten the eligibility criteria for personal independence payments (PIP) – was put on hold, pending a review into the assessment process by minister Stephen Timms that is due to report back in the autumn.

The government was forced into a U-turn after Labour MPs signalled publicly and privately that the previous concession made at the weekend to protect existing claimants from the new rules would not be enough.

More on Benefits

While the bill passed its first parliamentary hurdle last night, with a majority of 75, 49 Labour MPs still voted against it – the largest rebellion in a prime minister’s first year in office since 47 MPs voted against Tony Blair’s Lone Parent benefit in 1997, according to Professor Phil Cowley from Queen Mary University.

It left MPs to vote on only one element of the original plan – the cut to Universal Credit (UC) sickness benefits for new claimants from £97 a week to £50 from 2026/7.

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Govt makes last-minute concession on welfare bill

An amendment brought by Labour MP Rachael Maskell, which aimed to prevent the bill progressing to the next stage, was defeated but 44 Labour MPs voted for it.

The incident has raised questions about Sir Keir’s authority just a year after the general election delivered him the first Labour landslide victory in decades.

Read more:
How did your MP vote on Labour’s welfare bill?
The PM faced down his party on welfare and lost

And on Wednesday, Downing Street insisted Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, was “not going anywhere” after her tearful appearance in the House of Commons during prime minister’s questions sparked speculation about her political future.

The Ipsos poll also found that two-thirds of British adults are not confident Labour has the right plans to change the way the benefits system works in the UK, including nearly half of 2024 Labour voters.

Keiran Pedley, director of UK Politics at Ipsos, said: “Labour rows over welfare reform haven’t just harmed the public’s view on whether they can make the right changes in that policy area, they are raising wider questions about their ability to govern too.

“The public is starting to doubt Labour’s ability to govern competently and seriously at the same levels they did with Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak’s governments. Labour will hope that this government doesn’t end up going the same way.”

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Emotional Reeves a painful watch – and a reminder of tough decisions ahead

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Emotional Reeves a painful watch - and a reminder of tough decisions ahead

It is hard to think of a PMQs like it – it was a painful watch.

The prime minister battled on, his tone assured, even if his actual words were not always convincing.

But it was the chancellor next to him that attracted the most attention.

Rachel Reeves looked visibly upset.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (right) crying as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks. Pic: Commons/UK Parliament/PA
Image:
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (right) crying as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks. Pic: Commons/UK Parliament/PA

It is hard to know for sure right now what was going on behind the scenes, the reasons – predictable or otherwise – why she appeared to be emotional, but it was noticeable and it was difficult to watch.

Reeves looks visibly upset as Starmer defends welfare U-turn – politics latest

Her spokesperson says it was a personal matter that they will not be getting into.

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Even Kemi Badenoch, not usually the most nimble PMQs performer, singled her out. “She looks absolutely miserable,” she said.

Anyone wondering if Kemi Badenoch can kick a dog when it’s down has their answer today.

The Tory leader asked the PM if he could guarantee his chancellor’s future: he could not. “She has delivered, and we are grateful for it,” Sir Keir said, almost sounding like he was speaking in the past tense.

Pic PA
Image:
Rachel Reeves looked visibly upset behind Keir Starmer at PMQs. Pic PA

It is important to say: Rachel Reeves’s face during one PMQs session is not enough to tell us everything, or even anything, we need to know.

But given the government has just faced its most bruising week yet, it was hard not to speculate. The prime minister’s spokesperson has said since PMQs that the chancellor has not offered her resignation and is not going anywhere.

But Rachel Reeves has surely seen an omen of the impossible decisions ahead.

How will she plug the estimated £5.5bn hole left by the welfare climbdown in the nation’s finances? Will she need to tweak her iron clad fiscal rules? Will she come back for more tax rises? What message does all of this send to the markets?

If a picture tells us a thousand words, Rachel Reeves’s face will surely be blazoned on the front pages tomorrow as a warning that no U-turn goes unpunished.

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Science

Newly Detected Seaborgium-257 Offers Critical Data on Fission and Quantum Shell Effects

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Newly Detected Seaborgium-257 Offers Critical Data on Fission and Quantum Shell Effects

German Scientists at GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung found a new superheavy isotope, 257Sg, named Seaborgium, which reveals unexpected details about the stability and nuclear fission. This study was published in Physical Review Letters and describes how this isotope, made by fusing chromium-52 with lead-206, survived for 12.6 milliseconds, longer than usual. The rare longevity and decay into 253Rf provide new indications of how K-quantum numbers or angular momentum impact the fission resistance. The findings fill in the gaps and give us an understanding of the effects of quantum shells in superheavy nuclei, which is crucial for preventing immediate disintegration.

Challenging Traditional Views on K-Quantum Numbers and Fission

As per the study by GSI, it challenges conservative views on how K-quantum numbers impact fission. Previously, it was found that the higher K values lead to greater fission hindrance, but after getting the findings from the GSI team, a more complex dynamic emerged. They found that K-quantum numbers offer hindrance to fission, but it is still ot known that it is how much, said Dr. Pavol Mosat, the study’s co-author.

Discovery of First K-Isomeric State in Seaborgium

An important milestone is the identification of the first K-isomeric state in seaborgium. In 259Sg, the scientists found that the conversion of the electron signal occurs 40 microseconds after the nuclear formation. This is clear evidence of the high angular momentum K-isomer. These states have longer lifetimes and friction in fission in a more effective way than their ground-state counterparts.

Implications for the Theorised Island of Stability

This discovery by the scientists provides key implications for the Island of stability, which has long been theorised. It is a region where superheavy elements could have comparatively long half-lives. If K-isomers are present in the still undiscovered elements such as 120, they can enable scientists in the detection of nuclei that would otherwise decay in just under one microsecond.

Synthesising 256Sg with Ultra-Fast Detection Systems

This team of German Scientists under GSI is now aiming to synthesise 256Sg, which might decay quicker than observed or predicted. Their success is dependent on the ultra-fast detection systems created by GSI, which are capable of capturing events within 100 nanoseconds. This continued research by the team may help in reshaping the search and studying the heaviest elements in the periodic table.

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