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Roughly one month ago, former President Trump (against the suggestions of his own advisers) declared his candidacy in the 2024 election.

The timing of this ahead of the Georgia runoff race was what many in the GOP tried to get Trump to hold off on; however, Trump insisted on going about this his own way.

Now, weeks since Trump's announcement, he's engaged in the following antics that have earned him negative PR:

• Dining with anti-Semites Nick Fuentes and Kanye West
• Calling to terminate the Constitution
• Calling for Kari Lake to be "installed" as Arizona governor, despite Lake narrowly losing her election to Arizona Gov.-elect Katie Hobbs

Before these antics, Trump lobbed unprovoked attack against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Though this didn't stop the Florida governor from cruising to a second term in office.

Now, 2024 polls show that DeSantis would defeat Trump in a GOP primary and also defeat Joe Biden in a general election.

The numbers on the ground

A new poll by USA Today/Suffolk University has DeSantis carrying a 23-point lead over Trump amongst Republican voters and voters who lean towards the GOP.

On top of this, support for just Trump alone in the Republican Party remains on a steady decline.

In July, 60% of the GOP showed enthusiasm for him making another run for the Oval Office. Though by the time October arrived, the enthusiasm for a Trump 2024 candidacy dipped to 56%.

Now, the reception stands at just 47%. Last month, when Trump announced his candidacy for the White House, he did not receive a standing ovation from the GOP at large. Many even described the former president's speech as lukewarm and low energy.

Though when DeSantis gave his victory speech after securing a second term as Florida's governor, he received a standing ovation.

More bad news for Trump

The former president has talked a good game about being able to beat DeSantis in a primary and beat Biden in a general election. However, the numbers actually show Trump losing to DeSantis in a primary and losing to Biden in a general election.

In a Trump vs. Biden matchup, the former president ekes out 40%, while Biden carries 47%. However, in a DeSantis vs. Biden scenario, the Florida governor enjoys a cool 47% over Biden's 43%.