It’s becoming increasingly obvious that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is on the precipice of officially launching a presidential campaign. From his recent trips to crucial states like New Hampshire and Iowa , to the usual international trip undertaken by potential presidents, a quest for the highest office in the land is on the horizon for DeSantis. There are those who contend his candidacy embodies a new fresh face within the Republican Party . DeSantis critiques modern culture with the now popular (and notorious) term “ woke ” and laments about the tyranny of “cancel culture .” He is locked into the day-to-day national news story outside of traditional electoral politics. For example, he joined online conservatives rallying against Bud Light for collaborating with a trans social media influencer for a fun marketing campaign. DeSantis’ team then posted a vicious video mocking trans athletes, and the governor shared in an interview he’d never drink Bud Light … [Read more...] about The Ron DeSantis Presidential Campaign Kicked Off Already…in 1964
Ron desantis
Ron DeSantis, A Strongman Who Isn’t Dumb
A little over a year ago, I wrote a long feature story on Ron DeSantis . Even at that early date, it was easy to discern his blueprint for wresting the Republican nomination from Donald Trump’s hands. DeSantis was pitching himself to the party’s base as a more competent and ruthless vehicle for their agenda. He had courted and won over far-right activists who had thrilled to Trump: J-6ers, anti-vaxxers, Putin fans. His message would combine complete refusal to disavow any extremist within his coalition — when a small pack of white supremacists harassed Jewish people in Orlando, DeSantis’s spokesman called it a false flag — with a total refusal to acknowledge the mainstream media. He was already amassing overwhelming support from the party’s donor class and media barons, and could count on overt support from the Murdoch media empire. Everything I laid out in the piece about DeSantis’s plan has turned out to be correct, except one: I thought it would work. It still might work, of … [Read more...] about Ron DeSantis, A Strongman Who Isn’t Dumb
Ron DeSantis Is So Clearly the Beta to Donald Trump’s Alpha
As Donald Trump responded to Florida governor Ron DeSantis ’ flailing Twitter Spaces event announcing his 2024 presidential campaign run, the former president showed exactly why he’s Donald Trump—and Ron DeSantis isn’t. “Trump was just ruthless in going after this,” The New Abnormal co-host Andy Levy explains. “I look at these posts from Trump and I’m like, DeSantis is dead. He’s just dead because he can’t compete with this kind of stuff. He did it in a funny way… and he made DeSantis look even smaller in comparison. He is so clearly the beta to Trump’s alpha—to use their terms—and given that he’s in a party that sort of worships this whole cult of the phony alpha man, I don’t really see how he beats Trump on a thing like this.” Subscribe to The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Google Podcasts , Stitcher , Amazon Music , or Overcast . According to David Roth , editor and co-owner of Defector , “DeSantis … [Read more...] about Ron DeSantis Is So Clearly the Beta to Donald Trump’s Alpha
Disney Reputation Among Voters Plummets Amid Fight with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
Disney’s reputation among American voters has plummeted to new lows amid its ongoing political fight with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), according to this year’s Axios Harris Poll 100, which measures and ranks the reputations of prominent corporations. The Walt Disney Co. took a giant hit in the rankings, dropping a dozen spots, to 77th place. In addition, Disney now ranks among the top five “most polarizing” companies, behind The Trump Organization, Fox Corp., Hobby Lobby, and cryptocurrency firm FTX. “The lesson here is that when you divide you subtract,” said Harris Poll CEO John Gerzema told Axios. “When you divide audiences, you’re ultimately going to be subtracting customers for your business.” Disney is among the top 10 most politically polarized companies in this year's Axios Harris Poll 100. Disney gained favor with Democrats after tangling with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis but took a large reputation hit with Republicans. https://t.co/zofhf1P9sd — Axios (@axios) … [Read more...] about Disney Reputation Among Voters Plummets Amid Fight with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
China Mocks Ron DeSantis as ‘Back-Up’ Candidate in Case Trump Goes to Jail
China’s state-run Global Times newspaper weighed in on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announcing his candidacy for President of the United States on Thursday, dismissing him as a “spare wheel” for Republicans in the event that frontrunner Donald Trump goes to jail. The former president, who unsuccessfully served as the nominee for the Republicans in the 2020 presidential election, was indicted in April on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to claims that Trump paid adult film star Stormy Daniels thousands of dollars to remain silent about an alleged affair between the two. Trump’s arraignment in New York City prompted a frenzy of protesters, performance artists, and a small number of supportive Republicans to surround the Manhattan courthouse processing him in April. At the time of Trump’s indictment, DeSantis, still denying his status as a presidential candidate, mocked Trump’s predicament: “I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to … [Read more...] about China Mocks Ron DeSantis as ‘Back-Up’ Candidate in Case Trump Goes to Jail
A Ron DeSantis Presidency Would Be All Authoritarian Culture War Nonsense
I do not consider myself a big Ronald Reagan fan, but I’m willing to give credit where credit is due. President Reagan was a policy guy. (That I disagree with the wisdom and effectiveness of many of his policies is beside the point.) He had big ideas on how to fight communism and grow the economy. He was a traditional conservative: shrink the government and keep it out of Americans’ lives. He understood that politics is the art of compromise. He worked across the aisle to pass bipartisan legislation on taxes, immigration, and social security. And while it is often left out of Reagan lore , he even raised taxes in later years after his massive 1981 tax cuts led to mounting deficits—an example of Reagan being practical even though it contradicted his tax-cutting image. As a former actor (and perhaps as a former Democrat), Reagan had to work hard to show voters he was a serious public policy thinker and not just a theatrical performer. Times have changed. Enter Ron … [Read more...] about A Ron DeSantis Presidency Would Be All Authoritarian Culture War Nonsense