He doesn’t mean it the way it sounds in my headline.

Well, he does, but he’s sly about it. You’ll see.

First, the background. Biden obviously didn’t forget DeSantis’s name yesterday, per his mischievous smile here. He was tweaking him by pretending to:

Reporter: "[Ron DeSantis is] saying I am in the way to block too much interference from the federal government. Your response, Mr. President?"

President Biden: "Governor who?" pic.twitter.com/xMeNMNhaft

— The Hill (@thehill) August 5, 2021

How could even Sundown Joe forget DeSantis? The White House has made him its chief whipping boy day after day lately for the surge in national COVID cases, believing that they can deflect public exasperation over the Delta surge onto DeSantis by scapegoating him for blocking new mask mandates and other restrictions in Florida. Jen Psaki did it again at today’s briefing, saying, “I want public health officials to make decisions about how to keep my kids safe, not politicians,” and noting that “not only is Governor DeSantis not abiding by public health decisions, he’s fundraising off of this.”

The first rule of modern Republican politics, especially populist politics, is to hit back when you’re slighted. If you don’t, you won’t “fight” and that’s fatal. DeSantis ate his Wheaties before today’s press conference, knowing he’d be asked about Biden’s “Governor who?” comment. This answer is clearly scripted but reeeeeally good, and delivered flawlessly:

DeSantis: “I’m not surprised that Biden doesn’t remember me . . . The question is what else has he forgotten?” pic.twitter.com/uO3yy12Hbj

— Arthur Schwartz (@ArthurSchwartz) August 6, 2021

He’s careful to say that when he accuses Biden of “forgetting” things, he means that the president isn’t properly prioritizing urgent policy matters like securing the border. But we’re all in on the joke. Biden is old, old, old, and it often shows.

I guess this means the bromance is over.

You sure you want you-know-who on the debate stage for the GOP in 2024 instead of this guy? Whatever you may think Trump’s virtues are, DeSantis is a vastly better communicator. And I know who I’d bet would be preferable to those suburban swing voters who ended up deciding the last election. Speaking of which, a detail from Trump’s appearance at a fundraiser in Westchester yesterday:

Trump got asked by an attendee if it would a Trump/DeSantis ticket. Trump responded by saying he got DeSantis elected. In other conversations, Trump has been asking people if they think DeSantis will run against him if Trump runs.

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) August 6, 2021

DeSantis’s stellar comeback at Biden this afternoon actually had two targets, even if one wasn’t intentional. The president was the prime target, but every time DeSantis proves his mettle to the base by one-upping some Democrat he’s tangling with, he creates a little more space politically for himself as an alternative to Trump. Trump’s trump card is his enthusiasm to own the libs and to play rough if need be to do so. Each example of DeSantis doing the same further secures his status as heir apparent.

Now, if only we could convince him to stop pandering to anti-vaxxers:

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday he is opposed to the idea of hospitals requiring employees to take the coronavirus vaccine.

“It’s not something I support,” the Florida Republican said at a press conference at Tampa general hospital. “Here’s the problem that I think you’re going to run into. Hospitals are having a tough time retaining staff.”

That’s the second time in two days that he’s contrived a reason to oppose a vaccine mandate. There’s no profession in this country that more urgently needs to be vaccinated than hospital staff who are around sick, vulnerable people all day. It’s true that some hardcore vaccine opponents in their ranks might quit rather than submit to the jab, but most won’t. And since when is DeSantis opposed to pressuring industries to do something for the common good? He went to war with public-school teachers last year, totally correctly, in the name of getting schools open and kids back into class even though there was always a chance teachers would quit en masse rather than return to the classroom. He called their bluff (at a moment when generous federal unemployment benefits were easy to come by too). Why won’t he call the bluff of unvaxxed hospital workers?

I’ll leave you with this. Florida’s Delta wave will end, probably soonish, but they’re not at the peak yet.

🚨BREAKING: #Florida yet again posts new #COVID19 records:

🦠22,783 cases in 1 day
🏥13,427 hospitalized (~1 in 1600 residents)
💉>90% of those seriously ill are UNVACCINATED#GetVaccinated #coronavirus #DeltaVariant https://t.co/K89AwGAUes

— Dena Grayson, MD, PhD (@DrDenaGrayson) August 6, 2021

Update: Sweet fancy Moses. Even by CNN standards, this framing is something:

Brah. pic.twitter.com/TyeRC1rKXe

— Karol Markowicz (@karol) August 6, 2021