Thomas Watkins is Washington bureau chief at The National
January 22, 2024
When Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ended his presidential bid at the weekend, he released a four-minute video in which he tried to sound upbeat while channelling the inspirational stoicism of Winston Churchill.
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts,” Mr DeSantis said, attributing the quote to the former British prime minister.
The only problem? Churchill never said it.
According to the Churchill Project at Hillsdale College, the phrase is one of several fabricated Churchill quotes that does the rounds on social media.
It's hardly the most egregious of slips – many of us have misquoted the cigar-chomping leader at some point.
But Mr DeSantis's parting gaffe feels like a fitting end to a campaign that was marred from the get-go by missteps and unforced errors.
Political analysts will no doubt analyse the failings of his presidential bid for weeks to come. To see where it all went wrong, it's worth starting at the beginning.
The Republican establishment had soured on Donald Trump after a poor showing at the 2022 midterms and many conservative media outlets – including those owned by Rupert Murdoch – were keen to anoint the newly re-elected Florida Governor as their standard bearer.
Instead of seizing on that early momentum and a lead in polls over Mr Trump, who had announced his own candidacy in late 2022, Mr DeSantis hemmed and hawed and played coy as to whether he was actually going to run.
By the time Mr DeSantis did announce on May 24, the former president had spent months attacking him and he was trailing Mr Trump by at least 30 points in Republican polls.
Despite criminal investigations, it was clear that the Trump Train had gathered more than enough steam to smash past any challengers.
And, bizarrely, when he did declare his candidacy, Mr DeSantis chose the cloistered world of Twitter Spaces to do so instead of seeking national exposure.
It was a disaster. The platform now known as X failed for 25 excruciating minutes while Mr DeSantis waited to make his big announcement, and a chat with owner Elon Musk all but guaranteed the attention would be on the billionaire rather than the presidential wannabe.
Once he had belatedly declared, Mr DeSantis then focused on the divisive cultural issues that had helped him retain the governorship in Florida but were less palatable to a national audience.
His “anti-woke” rhetoric appealed to some Republicans but ultimately he came across as a mean-spirited bully as he bragged about banning books, mocked gay people and supported a law that said black people had benefitted from slavery because it taught them useful skills.
Mr Trump's nickname for his opponent, Ron DeSanctimonious, stuck.
Then came the personal attacks on Mr DeSantis, who at various points in the campaign was accused of eating pudding with his fingers, being unable to smile authentically, and of wearing lifts in his already well-heeled cowboy boots to appear even taller.
The candidate appeared stiff, charmless and uncomfortable throughout the campaign, unable to connect with voters in a way Mr Trump can.
Mr DeSantis's campaign was also widely reported to be mired in internal conflicts. He hired too many staff to begin with, burning through cash, and frequently changed aides as his campaign floundered.
His campaign slogan was “Never Back Down”, but when he announced he was leaving the race, Mr DeSantis meekly endorsed Mr Trump, the man who had spent more than a year comparing his “no personality” opponent to a “wounded falling bird from the skies.”
Mr DeSantis could have endorsed Nikki Haley, the only opponent to Mr Trump still in the race, and helped propel her to victory in some states while keeping much-needed debate going within the Republican Party.
Instead, Mr Trump's coronation as Republican nominee is now all but assured.
And what does Mr DeSantis get for bending the knee? Apparently nothing.
Mr Trump on Monday said it was “highly unlikely” he would appoint Mr DeSantis to his cabinet if he returns to the White House.
Iftar programme at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding
Established in 1998, the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding was created with a vision to teach residents about the traditions and customs of the UAE. Its motto is ‘open doors, open minds’. All year-round, visitors can sign up for a traditional Emirati breakfast, lunch or dinner meal, as well as a range of walking tours, including ones to sites such as the Jumeirah Mosque or Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood.
Every year during Ramadan, an iftar programme is rolled out. This allows guests to break their fast with the centre’s presenters, visit a nearby mosque and observe their guides while they pray. These events last for about two hours and are open to the public, or can be booked for a private event.
Until the end of Ramadan, the iftar events take place from 7pm until 9pm, from Saturday to Thursday. Advanced booking is required.
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
NYBL PROFILE
Company name: Nybl
Date started: November 2018
Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono
Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up
Key products and UAE prices
iPhone XS
With a 5.8-inch screen, it will be an advance version of the iPhone X. It will be dual sim and comes with better battery life, a faster processor and better camera. A new gold colour will be available. Price: Dh4,229
iPhone XS Max
It is expected to be a grander version of the iPhone X with a 6.5-inch screen; an inch bigger than the screen of the iPhone 8 Plus. Price: Dh4,649
iPhone XR
A low-cost version of the iPhone X with a 6.1-inch screen, it is expected to attract mass attention. According to industry experts, it is likely to have aluminium edges instead of stainless steel. Price: Dh3,179
Apple Watch Series 4
More comprehensive health device with edge-to-edge displays that are more than 30 per cent bigger than displays on current models.
