I feel like we're going to see a lot of this. Republican candidates who try to copy Trump on a national stage, but don't get why it doesn't work for them.
Trump could have said the exact same thing and his worshipers wouldn't even have noticed it. The media would just play it off.
Trump has spent years doing reality TV and late-night commercials for vodka and steak. He's in a pro wrestling hall of fame. He gets how to do this sort of wild shyt and pull it off.
This is where DeSantis' insecurities show up so clearly. The lane for him was the "disciplined right wing/white nationalist", but he wants so badly to be the "based white nationalist" that he's willing to go down these dead end roads. But like you said, when someone like trump says it no one takes it seriously. DeSantis is trying to have it both ways where sometimes he's taken seriously and other times he wants that same trump like benefit of the doubt. Can't be two people at once.