Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is recalibrating his strategy and messaging amid signs that his presidential ambitions may be faltering before his campaign even gets off the ground. 

DeSantis began the year with clear momentum in the nascent GOP presidential primary, topping former President Trump in head-to-head polling and drawing unparalleled interest from Republican voters and operatives eager to see a fresh face at the helm of the party. 

But there are signs that his momentum may be stalling: he’s faced weeks of relentless attacks from Trump and his allies, fellow Republicans have criticized him for dubbing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “a territorial dispute” and some recent polls have shown his support in a hypothetical GOP primary slipping. 

“I think for all the fanfare about DeSantis, there’s still a lot of stuff he needs to work on,” said one Republican strategist, who plans to back the Florida governor in the 2024 primary if he runs. “That’s normal when you’re exploring this kind of thing. But I think he needs to rethink things a little bit.” 

To some degree, that already appears to be happening.  

In an interview this week with the British television personality Piers Morgan, DeSantis took several swipes at Trump, raising questions about the former president’s character and brushing off one of Trump’s nicknames for him, “Ron DeSanctimonious.” The comments were some of his sharpest criticisms of Trump yet, signaling a new willingness by the Florida governor to confront his one-time political benefactor more directly.