For foes of the GOP, DeSantis is the new Trump
Kimberly Ross
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Legacy media outlets are pining for former President Donald Trump to secure the GOP presidential nomination for a third time. The 45th president comes with a lot of baggage, past and present. Trump lost to President Joe Biden in 2020, and his influence harmed the GOP in the 2022 midterm elections. As a result, the Left views him as easy to beat. Just how well the elderly Biden, whose approval ratings are in the 40s, would fare against Trump in another election is unknown. But what is obvious is the contempt many hold for Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and his 2024 presidential campaign.
Leftists view DeSantis as either similar to or even worse than Trump. His unapologetic governing style elicits hyperbolic news coverage. Legacy media outlets continue to call the Parental Rights in Education Act the “Don’t Say Gay” law. The effort to paint DeSantis as ineffectual and Florida as anti-freedom is endless.
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In response to DeSantis and his campaign announcement, the self-described pro-democracy group known as the Lincoln Project published an open letter, part of which reads:
“Your awkwardness, disdain for people, and general disgust with the process, won’t help while you’re shaking countless hands in distant diners or standing in the middle of a fair posing for pictures with a butter cow. …. Your height, your recent and sudden weight loss, your terrible political judgment, the bad advice from domineering advisors, will all be fair game to Trump. He’s going to go through you like fingers through pudding. You’re too weak and afraid of Trump and his MAGA cult members to fight him to win. It was a brilliant move to announce on Twitter so you don’t have to talk to real people or answer real questions. It’s just you and Elon Musk – a South African who believes that the radical right deserves their own space to scream racist tropes, promote political violence, and push a bizarre culture war. …. We’re comfortable calling you an unAmerican poseur who wraps himself in the flag and military imagery to hide the fact that he’s nothing more than a wannabe despot who governs as a bully.”
The letter is more Trump-like than the anti-Trump group would dare to admit. Claiming DeSantis is awkward and has “disdain for people” is subjective, not substantive, criticism. Notes on appearance aren’t new campaign cautions but mockery. And calling DeSantis weak and afraid clashes with reality. The popular governor is running for president against a nonstop MAGA-fueled onslaught of the most vicious kind. That’s anything but cowering.
Next, the Lincoln Project slams DeSantis for daring to partner with Elon Musk for his campaign announcement. The group claims Musk (an immigrant!) gives space to “the radical right.” But Twitter is home to the radical Right, radical Left, center, apolitical, absurd, and downright stupid. Twitter is a platform where everyone is welcome to sound off. A platform dedicated to speech of all kinds is a good thing.
Finally, the letter ends with one final paragraph. It’s the worst of all. In it, the group says DeSantis is not only un-American but “wraps himself in the flag and military imagery.” DeSantis is a veteran. He served honorably and, by all accounts, did an extraordinary job. Unlike former Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, he didn’t dodge military service. No matter what one thinks of DeSantis’s time as an elected politician, his status as a veteran deserves and demands respect. There’s nothing more American than serving one’s country. The Lincoln Project should be ashamed, but the group is so blinded by hate that I doubt it’s that self-aware.
The entire spittle-flecked diatribe is on brand for the Lincoln Project. The group billed itself as a conservative anti-Trump group. Now, it’s mostly known for standing against anyone from the right side of the aisle, no matter what. The group has also made headlines for highly questionable financial management and a sex scandal involving one of its co-founders.
The screed is short on word count but long on exaggeration. The words and tone are like something Trump might post in one of his anti-DeSantis rants on Truth Social. It’s not fair-minded, measured, or practical political commentary. So it perfectly reflects the anti-conservative grifters who make up the Lincoln Project.
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Kimberly Ross (@SouthernKeeks) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog and a columnist at Arc Digital.