The despicable act of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis flying desperate immigrants into California and dumping them on the doorstep of the Catholic Diocese Headquarters showed us one thing: he could be president of the United States. is not suitable.

Not because of his enlightened view that we should have more control over the southern border. Any reasonable person would agree that borders are riddled with holes.

Members of Congress are trapped in political silos and cannot muster the courage to compromise on substantive immigration reform. Both parties are using the issue to strengthen their political base.

What makes Mr. DeSantis unfit for the Oval Office is his crude and ruthless efforts to step up the campaign for the struggling Republican presidential nominee while making “matches” with California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom. , the careless treatment of unlucky people as political pawns.

Do we really need a commander-in-chief who will play petty, reckless bargains with the enemy? For example, which president would alert Chinese warships in retaliation for a Chinese destroyer crossing the bow of a US Navy vessel?

A reckless, stubborn, hasty president can wreak all sorts of havoc, including war.

And do we want a president who treats the most vulnerable among us like political pawns? Who wastes our tax dollars trying to get a persistent pundit like Newsom to appear?

That said, the governor of California has shown no political credentials in recent months, chiding Mr. DeSantis, Texas governor Greg Abbott and other red state leaders.

Instead of focusing full-time on the problems he was elected to solve in California (homelessness, low housing prices, possible wildfires), Mr. Newsom chose to pursue conservative policies in other states. has been sporadically and loudly criticized.

The consensus of political commentators is that Mr. Newsom is poised to run for president in 2028, if not next year. He denies it and I believe him. But it’s clear he wants to be a national torchbearer for progressive causes.

If that’s his priority, he should run for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Senator Diane Feinstein next year. On the other hand, to prove your competence as a leader, you need to spend more time doing your official duties.

Newsom’s most recent high-profile event last week was an announcement that he would lead efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution to include specific gun control laws. Zero chance of being hired.

But it makes for good national news for Democratic voters and a lucrative fundraising tool for his new Federal Political Action Committee, the Movement for Democracy. In fact, his PAC soon began soliciting donations using the proposed constitutional amendment.

Don’t get me wrong, Newsom is perfectly justified in attacking DeSantis for violating California airspace and dropping 36 illegal immigrants into the capital, Sacramento.

“Suspected kidnapping?” Newsom pondered in a tweet, calling the governor of Florida “a pathetic little guy.”

California Ati. General Rob Bonta almost ruled out kidnapping charges against DeSantis and others last week.

“Kidnapping takes force and fear,” Bonta told me. “At the moment it’s out of sight… I see deception, false representations, unfulfilled promises. Basically lying.

“And to lie to move an individual hundreds of miles west, that is fraud. have a nature.”

for whom? “It could be someone from the governor [down]said Bonta.

“they [immigrants] They were brutally treated by official government measures. The people I talked to were told that if they got on the plane, they would get a job and help with food and housing. I never intended to do that. …that’s not how you treat people. ”

DeSantis initially remained silent about his involvement, but eventually defended the act in anger. He argued that California was a so-called sanctuary state, limiting local law enforcement involvement in federal efforts to deport illegal residents, so it was natural for immigrants to come in.

“Borders should be closed,” DeSantis said. “But if there is a policy of opening borders, I think the reserve jurisdiction has to put up with it.”

So, as president, would you deploy giant military transport planes to transport thousands of illegal immigrants from the Texas border to California?

As governor, Mr. DeSantis had the Florida legislature authorize a $22 million tax to transport immigrants from the red states to the blue states. Immigrants bound for California were picked up in El Paso. They weren’t in Florida, they weren’t working for the Sunshine State.

Will this serve DeSantis politically, especially in California’s presidential primary on March 5, with the largest Republican convention delegation (169) at stake?

“If he’s going to run as a cultural warrior, he’s going to get some cheap applause along the way,” says Mike Murphy, a longtime Republican consultant and co-director of USC’s Center for Political Futures. If he wins the Republican nomination, “but it will hurt him in the national election.”

But Murphy said the key to winning the primary in California is to build momentum by defeating former President Trump in Iowa or New Hampshire first. “We follow our leader.”

Early independent polls show Mr. Trump well ahead of Mr. DeSantis among Republican voters in California.

A survey released last week by the California Institute of Public Policy also found that 63% of potential voters see immigration as a benefit, not a burden. But Republicans are an outlier, with 74% of Republicans viewing immigration as a burden.

“Mr. DeSantis is following his worst instincts,” said Republican consultant Mike Madrid. “It’s all theatrical. The dwindling California Republicans will be rooting for him. And the Florida Democrats will be rooting for Gavin Newsom.”

“It’s smart politics and bad governance.”

And unfit for a potential president.