One of the most striking and direct breaks came last week, when Cotton hammered Trump’s First Step Act, which was aimed at reforming criminal sentencing laws and reducing the prison population. During a high-profile speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, a longtime platform for ambitious Republicans, Cotton called the bipartisan legislation “the worst mistake” of Trump’s tenure.

“No piece of legislation did more to harm our status as the party of public safety than the First Step Act,” said Cotton, noting that he had “led the fight” against the bill before its passage in 2018…

DeSantis, meanwhile, has second-guessed Trump’s handling of the coronavirus. Asked to identify a regret from his time as governor on a recent appearance on the conservative “Ruthless” podcast, DeSantis picked one that reflected on Trump, saying he wished he had spoken out “much louder” against Trump’s support for restrictions during the opening days of the pandemic.

“I never thought in February, early March” of 2020 that the outbreak “would lead to locking down the country,” DeSantis said. “I just didn’t. I didn’t think that was on the radar.”