To call DeSantis a Trump epigone, suggesting he might even represent “competent Trumpism,” as one ally put it to the New York Times, or comparing his pugnacious style to the ultimately failed models of Christie or Giuliani, is to neglect a more intriguing comparison. Ronald Reagan was a proven, experienced governor of a large and diverse state. Reagan was known to be combative with the media, to reject their premises, and to command news conferences and debates. Unlike Trump, Reagan brought to his presidential campaign a knowledge of how to manage a large and unwieldy government. There is a lot of well-justified concern on the right that the party has been irreparably fractured by recent events, but DeSantis would, like Reagan, be a powerfully uniting force between Mitt Romney-adjacent suburban voters who see the presidency as a question of managerial competence and Trump lovers who prize the more theatrical aspects of the job, especially the part that involves figuratively punching reporters in the nose. For better or for worse, it is now a core GOP value to despise the media. Any potential GOP presidential candidate will have to be prepared to serve as steward of the executive branch, commander in chief of the armed forces and No. 1 media critic. The many conservatives who questioned whether John McCain was too naïve about the press’s pre-2008 fondness for him, and whether Mitt Romney was simply too nice to win, can have no such reservations about DeSantis. So far, he’s simply better at smacking around the media than Rubio, Cruz, Hawley, and Cotton. Unlike Trump, he is able to lay out a lawyerly presentation of the simple facts while doing so. Moreover, the proud tradition of the GOP is to look outside the Beltway for potential presidents.