The way Democrats and the mainstream media talk incessantly about former President Donald Trump, one would think that it’s Trump and not Joe Biden who currently occupies the Oval Office.

Indeed, even Biden himself can’t stop obsessing over Trump, bizarrely invoking him in recent comments he made about his recent bout with COVID. He also made sure that Democrats marked the anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2020 Capitol riot complete with a speech in which Trump was the focus and where Biden proclaimed Trump was responsible for the breach of the U.S. Capitol, something he reiterated during a virtual White House event in July.

But in the midst of focusing on Trump as though he’s the biggest threat they could face in 2024, some Democrats are now reluctantly acknowledging that there is a foe out there who is far more formidable than Trump: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. And they say Biden should stop spending so much time making Donald Trump a focal point and more time trying to dent DeSantis’ rising popularity:

“To me, DeSantis is the scarier prospect,” one Democratic strategist said. “He’s a smarter version of Trump, he’s way more strategic, and he doesn’t have a hundred lawsuits at his feet.“

“If Trump goes bust, and he very well may, he’s the main guy I’d be watching,” the strategist said of the Florida governor.

Throughout his administration, DeSantis has made it a point to use Biden as a foil, blaming the president for policies he says are taking the country in the wrong direction.

[…]

“What’s inexplicable to me is, why — not just Joe Biden — but the entire Democratic establishment isn’t trying to disqualify him now in the governor’s race,” said Fernand Amandi, a Miami-based pollster and consultant whose firm helped Barack Obama’s presidential campaign win the state in 2008 and 2012.

“He’s getting an absolute free pass,” Amandi said of DeSantis. “He has no sense of shame. … He’s acting like someone who doesn’t feel accountable to anyone.”

In truth, DeSantis is acting as though someone who is accountable to Floridians, which is precisely the way he should act, and which is why he’s likely to get reelected. But that’s a story for another day.

The funny thing here is that Biden has tried to play “tough guy” against DeSantis in the past. The problem with that, though, is that DeSantis flattens him every time he attempts it, whether it’s on illegal immigration, vaccine mandates, parental rights legislation, and even when Biden pretended to forget DeSantis’ name.

While that’s one reason Biden appears to have backed off taking swipes at DeSantis, something else to note is that Trump has become an “easy” target for Biden. Trump has Truth Social but that social media platform has limited availability at the moment, and Trump’s not allowed on Twitter – arguably his biggest megaphone while in office – anymore.

Sure, Trump can issue statements and give speeches blasting Biden but it’s not the same thing as the insta-responses he could give Biden on Twitter. Biden’s team knows this which is why they’re taking advantage of it, because they know one on one at this stage in his crumbling presidency that Biden is no match for Trump’s quips and one-liners.

Further, though Democrat operatives and their media allies are busy little bees trying to burst the DeSantis balloon ahead of a possible 2024 run, the mere mention of the name Trump sends unhinged Democrats reaching for their pocketbooks to make donations to political campaigns. “Trump” is a guaranteed engine-starter for those with deep pockets on the left, something of which even Joe Biden is keenly aware.

All of that said, when and if the time comes and Biden turns his attention back on DeSantis, be ready for it, because DeSantis has had a lot of practice fine-tuning his craft, which is made clear each time he opens his mouth to announce a policy initiative or a bill signing, and/or takes on the latest phony Democrat/Never Trump criticism or media hit piece.

Should it come to it, I very much look forward to the debates between the two of them. Biden won’t stand a chance.

Flashback: A Petulant Joe Biden Makes a Cowardly Move in Presser Held After GDP News