As his expected presidential announcement looms, Ron DeSantis’s usually staid, buttoned-up, disciplined orbit unexpectedly lost altitude last week. Granted, plenty of the chaos was a predictable consequence of DeSantis engaging Piers Morgan to test a few negative opinions about Donald Trump, breaking his self-imposed omertà, and provoking the former president and his allies to carpet-bomb DeSantis in response. Among the latest hits was the insinuation that DeSantis is secretly an establishment tool of Karl Rove and Paul Ryan, a cardinal sin on par, at least in MAGA circles, with Trump’s previous slander labeling DeSantis a “groomer.”

The Morgan interview, which came on the heels of news that Trump might soon be indicted, seemed to position DeSantis to enter a new gear. But a series of rare self-imposed mistakes ended up stealing the show, and generating headlines of their own: drama surrounding his book tour that alienated G.O.P. firms and eclipsed Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds; an NBC story quoting allies questioning whether he is ready for prime time; and, as I reported last week, agita over whether DeSantis’s less-than-vociferous defense of Trump’s legal troubles had damaged his standing among the MAGA base. With his polling stalled, at least one major donor has reportedly paused their financial support.