Ron DeSantis is happy to keep powering his outrage machine

Ron DeSantis, Florida’s Republican governor, has often been touted as someone who embodies Donald Trump’s view of America without the associated baggage – Trumpism without the Trump.

Earlier this year, DeSantis signed a bill into law that was designed to “protect Floridians from discrimination and woke indoctrination”, and his personal political brand is built on a similar foundation: the promise of what he sees as protecting the country from liberals.

He certainly shares more than a few traits with Trump, who endorsed him in the Republican Party’s Florida governor primary in 2018. DeSantis also made plenty of his support for Trump at the same time. Both men like to court outrage, and are quite happy to face down any criticism of their actions in the media, knowing that it is likely to make them more popular with their supporter base.

So we turn to DeSantis’s latest stunt: sending two planes carrying around 50 people, mostly Venezuelan and Colombian migrants, to Martha’s Vineyard, which is located off the coast of Massachusetts and is well known as a summer destination for wealthy holidaymakers.

Why did he do it? To highlight his opposition to the policies of the Biden administration in relation to the US border, particularly its southern border. “We are not a sanctuary state, and it’s better to be able to go to a sanctuary jurisdiction [cities or states that limit cooperation with the enforcement of federal immigration law] – and yes, we will help facilitate that transport for you to be able to go to greener pastures,” DeSantis said. “Every community in America should be sharing in the burdens. It shouldn’t all fall on a handful of red states.”

The response? Exactly what he wanted. Democrats decried the stunt – New Jersey’s Democratic senator Bob Menendez called it “outrageous”, saying that DeSantis had shown “no concern for the lives of these people”. A number of Florida newspapers added their condemnation. Meanwhile, some Republicans applauded, which will no doubt give a short-term boost to DeSantis’s national polling numbers.

DeSantis has raised $175.8m (£152.4m) for his re-election campaign as Florida governor, according to the most recent filings, and plenty of polls have placed him as the second most popular Republican behind Trump. He is seen by many analysts as possibly the only Republican who could challenge the former president in a presidential primary, if his current momentum keeps up.

What seems clear to all, though, is that DeSantis is happy to keep courting outrage.