Donald Trump doesn’t just defeat his rivals. He humiliates and obliterates them.

In the brutal game of politics, autopsies are often conducted while the patient is still alive. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis only ended his presidential bid on Jan. 21, but the stench of decay followed his campaign for months, as he faltered in the polls and was mercilessly mocked by front-runner Donald Trump. Journalists had already run postmortems of the infighting and incompetence that allegedly hamstrung the candidate from the start.

To the extent that DeSantis’ failure smooths the path for Trump’s inevitable coronation, it’s to be regretted. But DeSantis was never a Trump alternative in any meaningful sense. The whole logic of his candidacy was that he was Trump without the baggage – someone who could carry out Trump’s agenda in a more competent way. To that end, DeSantis styled for himself a political persona of cold, calculated bigotry that was singularly loathsome. DeSantis allied himself with the homophobes and transphobes of Moms for Liberty to sign many anti-LGBTQ+ laws. He targeted Black voters for disenfranchisement. He placed the state’s colleges and universities in the hands of far-right ideological fanatics intent on destroying intellectual freedom. He turned migrants into political props by having them transported to Martha’s Vineyard.

There’s no reason to mourn DeSantis’ epic failure.

His early defeat is remarkable given the amount of money and support he received from GOP plutocrats. By September, big donors had given over $23 million – far more than to any other Republican candidate. Because donors quickly ran into campaign finance limits, his campaign relied on the Never Back Down super PAC, funded to the tune of more than $130 million.

Normally, having a rival under more than 90 indictments for serious crimes would be good for a candidate. But the Republican electorate is so enamored of Trump that the more often he is indicted the stronger he becomes. The reason is simple: Trump’s core political identity is as an anti-system politician – an outsider who upsets the applecart of the status quo. When he’s indicted, it’s just further proof that the system is out to get him.

DeSantis’ big problem was that the GOP electorate loves Trump as the great avatar of their hatred of the political status quo. Running as “Trump – but competent” is like trying to create a rock star that is “Elvis – but chaste and subdued.” It reflects a misunderstanding of the product being sold.

One manifestation of Trump’s anti-system politics is that he doesn’t want to just defeat his rivals; he wants to humiliate them. Consider the nicknames: Little Marco (Rubio), Lyin’ Ted (Cruz), Ron DeSanctimonious. DeSantis told an Iowa crowd, “You can be the most worthless Republican in America. But if you kiss the ring, he’ll say you’re wonderful.”

Exactly one week after these damning words, DeSantis endorsed Trump. In a rare gesture of magnanimity, Trump announced that the nickname Ron DeSanctimonious has been “officially retired.” There was no need to rub it in.

JEET HEER is a national affairs correspondent for The Nation.