Conservative pundits have long predicted ahead of 2024 that members of the media would insist that Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis would be a "worse" president than President Trump. Well, one MSNBC opinion piece is way ahead of schedule. 

In a piece titled, "Why Ron DeSantis is more dangerous than Trump," MSNBC opinion columnist Dean Obeidallah began by accusing the Florida governor of putting "political goals ahead of the health and safety of our children" with his executive order barring public schools for issuing mask mandates, saying "there should be a special place in hell — or potentially in prison" for people like him. 

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"Yes, former President Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to our nation — at least, if you support our democratic republic. But DeSantis is more dangerous," Obeidallah wrote on Saturday. "For starters, DeSantis wields actual governmental power, while Trump has none… DeSantis is the future of the GOP. Trump has — at most — one more campaign left in him."

Obeidallah cited a poll showing "62 percent" of Florida voters support a mask mandate for schools, stressing that "only 39 percent" of those in favor of such a mandate are Republicans and that "DeSantis, like Trump, is focused only on the GOP base."

"That should sound familiar after four years of Trump," Obeidallah wrote. "In a very Trumpian maneuver Wednesday, DeSantis lashed out at his critics with some very Trumpesque lines. He claimed that the real reason Covid-19 case numbers are climbing in the U.S. is that migrants crossing the border are bringing the virus with them. Fact-checkers have noted that this is false — the Covid-19 spike is occurring in the states with the lowest vaccination rates, many of them far from the southern border. But Trump 2.0, like the original, doesn’t care about facts — it’s all about the fear."

The MSNBC writer later added, "His focus isn’t on what’s good for all the people of Florida — it’s on only what makes the GOP base happy. And if children need to be sacrificed for DeSantis to win the GOP nomination for president, he is clearly willing to take that risk."

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Members of the liberal media have long been critical of DeSantis' handling of the coronavirus outbreak while giving glowing coverage to Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who announced on Tuesday that he will be resigning amid his sexual harassment scandal as multiple investigations continue. 

However, media critics believe liberal outlets like MSNBC and CNN see DeSantis as a formidable threat as conservatives have floated the idea that the congressman-turned-governor challenge President Biden in 2024.