In spite of Ron DeSantis’ bluster today, he can’t magically protect an indicted Donald Trump from being hauled in
Now that Donald Trump has been criminally indicted in New York, his own attorneys are publicly stating that Trump will surrender himself voluntarily next week. Meanwhile Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has announced that his state will refuse to cooperate with any extradition request. That’s cute, but DeSantis does not magically have the ability to protect Trump. That’s not how the law or the process works.
So why is DeSantis saying this? Since he knows it’s not a real thing, and it’s not a situation he’s going to be in anyway, he knows he can score cheap points with Trump’s base just by saying something like this. DeSantis has been plummeting in the 2024 polls, and he surely sees this empty show of support for Trump as a way to try to endear himself to Trump’s base once Trump’s worsening criminal justice system predicament has finished taking him off the 2024 table.
In reality, in the unlikely but possible event that Trump refuses to voluntarily surrender, the courts will authorize law enforcement to haul him in by force. And then an overwhelming law enforcement entourage will do precisely that. DeSantis does not control these things and cannot stop this process from happening. All he can do is refuse to “help.” And to be clear, the Secret Service isn’t going to try to protect Trump from being hauled in either. Their job is to protect his safety – not protect him from arrest.
Again, keep in mind that Trump’s own attorneys are publicly stating that he’s just going to turn himself in next week. There’s a reason for that. If Trump decides to play any games at all regarding his surrender, he’ll be considered a fugitive, and the judge will take that into consideration when deciding his pretrial privileges at his arraignment. If Trump wants to make a show of this, it’s only going to hurt him. It’s why his lawyers are steering him toward just surrendering.
