Remember back in April, when our Democratic Gov. Jared Polis publicly feuded with Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis? At the time, DeSantis had signed Florida’s parents’ rights bill into law — derided by opponents as the “Don’t Say Gay Bill” — and publicly trashed Walt Disney World and Twitter, prompting Polis to offer both Disney and Twitter “a new home in Colorado.”

Polis’s own sexual orientation aside, there was never any meaningful reason for Colorado’s governor to rebuke and misrepresent Florida’s actual law. Moreover, no serious observer or business analyst ever conceived of a Disney Rocky Mountains or Twitter HQ Denver.

In truth, Polis challenged DeSantis for only one plausible reason: If Joe Biden declines to seek reelection, Polis is running for president in 2024 — and DeSantis is seen as a highly-prospective Republican opponent.

Of course, Polis denies it. According to CNN, his campaign spokesperson, Amber Miller, insisted Polis is “not considering anything like that and is focused on running the state of Colorado. If he is re-elected, he plans to serve his entire term as governor of Colorado.”

Let’s be honest: That’s what every ambitious politician says when they want to hide the ball.

I’m old enough to remember when John Hickenlooper — during his own short-lived 2020 presidential bid — insisted he was “not cut out to be a senator.” Nevertheless, he did end up successfully running for U.S. Senate.

(Hickenlooper has since proved this to be a truism: It’s no wonder it took him a full year-and-a-half to offer up his maiden floor speech — June 23, 2022.)

It’s nothing new for an incumbent to hedge when asked if they will seek a different, generally higher, office. Polis’s denials are simply the typical candidate roll dodge.

Make no mistake: If Biden doesn’t run again, Polis will seek the presidency.

His feud with DeSantis is but one of many indicators of his true intentions. Consider Polis’s disingenuous stance on abortion, one which can only be summarized as “political grandstanding.”

The governor recently signed the party-line HB22-1279 (“Reproductive Health Equity Act”) into law, making abortion a “fundamental right” in Colorado while forbidding any and all limitations on the practice. The law, however, is unnecessary.

As I wrote last month, “even if the legislature hadn’t approved the new law and the Supreme Court overturns its landmark Roe v. Wade case this summer, nothing would change.” (The Court has since issued its ruling overturning Roe).

As I explained, “Democrats didn’t need to pass a law to radically codify abortion in Colorado, making it explicitly legal with virtually no limits. In fact, what we have in Colorado is the precise inverse of what pro-choice activists fear in other states — a complete ban on abortion. Only, in Colorado’s case, innocent unborn babies can have their lives severed all the way until birth. That is the definition of extreme.”

Doubling down on superfluousness, Polis subsequently issued an executive order which, as CoPo reported, “directs state agencies to withhold data, including patient medical records and related billing information, to states that may impose criminal or civil penalties on those who seek or provide abortions.”

The executive order is a hollow platitude: The governor’s declaration that this is about “protect(ing) and defend(ing) individual freedom and protect(ing) the privacy of Coloradans” is nonsense. Both the law and the executive order have no practical effect.

As the Independence Institute’s Jon Caldara wrote: “Just one tiny thing here: there are already lots of laws, including HIPAA, which protect patient privacy. What Polis is ‘stopping’ is already illegal. Points for theatrics though.”

Amplifying the partisan political nature of Polis’s abortion absurdity, the ongoing silence of Democrats on vandalized churches and pregnancy centers is ceaselessly deafening. A sincere leader would vigorously condemn such bigoted, intimidating acts.

While he’s tried to placate his base on such controversial issues as abortion, Polis has diligently worked to cultivate a national image as the “sensible Democrat.”

In May, YouTube host Dave Rubin visited Colorado’s Gothic Theater for a live audience show. “Things seem pretty good here,” he said early on in the event. “You have a governor who is sort-of not fully insane.”

The audience visibly recoiled. As I recounted, Rubin “seemed somewhat surprised by the audience’s visceral reaction. Who could blame him when a national media narrative falsely reflects Colorado’s Democratic governor as a moderate — and has managed a distinct, out-of-state reputation that is out-of-step with what many Coloradans actually feel?”

CNN perpetuates this same narrative, describing Polis as “known for straying from what became Democratic orthodoxy on COVID-19 lockdowns.”

In a recent Fox News segment, Polis was introduced as a Democrat who’s bucking his colleagues on climate change because he vetoed an irrational bill to mandate that all new homes feature electric-vehicle charging stations.

Nonsense. Polis’s so-called “moderation” is at best relative — relative to his utterly horrible peers in California or New York. Polis is responsible for the Democrats’ bait-and-switch on their new gas tax and on refunds provided by the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. He’s the purveyor of Colorado’s Green Little Deal that has helped push up the cost of gasoline, and of political games on masks.

Polis’s self-anointed coronavirus coronation generated destructive economic consequences and made Colorado No. 1 for nursing home deaths in 2020.

Talking about another major presidential contender? Check. Transparently playing to the base? Check. Cultivating a fake national brand? Check.

Let’s be serious: Jared Polis is running for president. He just hasn’t admitted it yet.

Jimmy Sengenberger is host of “The Jimmy Sengenberger Show” Saturdays from 6-9am on News/Talk 710 KNUS. He also hosts “Jimmy at the Crossroads,” a webshow and podcast in partnership with The Washington Examiner.