futile effort

Ron “Don’t Say Gay” DeSantis plots major shakeup amid reports his crappy campaign is “on the brink”

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Ron DeSantis

Ron “Don’t Say Gay” DeSantis is starting to acknowledge reality: his presidential run is a disaster.

The Florida governor, who keeps losing ground in GOP primary polls, is planning a campaign reset, NBC News reports. Going forward, he’s going to forego big events, and focus more on “handshaking in diners and churches.”

That should work great. The only problem is, the candidate is bad–like, really bad–at talking to people.

Nevertheless, DeSantis plans to hold more intimate events, pressing flesh with voters at “Pizza Ranches, churches and VFW halls,” according to NBC.

In addition, he’ll participate in more interviews with mainstream media outlets. This week, for example, he appeared on CNN.

“Meatball Ron” and his equally machiavellian wife, Casey, also sat down for a softball interview with Fox News that didn’t produce the results they probably intended. The aggrieved couple come across as scripted and stiff.

Sources told NBC News DeSantis’ campaign is “on the brink” and morale is “downright low.”

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said an anonymous official.

While DeSantis’ recent fundraising numbers appear strong on the surface–he raised $20 million from mid-May to the end of June–they don’t tell the whole story. More than two-thirds of that money came from donors who gifted the legal limit; and thus, can’t spend again.

Currently, DeSantis has $12.5 million cash in the bank, compared to Donald Trump‘s $22.5 million.

With those numbers in mind, the DeSantis campaign fired roughly a dozen staffers last week.

It seems as if everybody is jumping ship, including Rupert Murdoch, the owner of News Corp, and arguably biggest kingmaker in Republican politics.

So far, DeSantis’ strategy has consisted of touting his radical record in Florida and doubling down on anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. He and his wife both released virulently homophobic ads over consecutive weeks, earning widespread condemnation, even from gay Republicans, including George Santos and ex-Trump official Richard Grenell.

Earlier this week, Ron booted an LGBTQ+ activist from one of his events. Meanwhile, Casey amplified her husband’s petty power play, only for her plan to backfire spectacularly.

The NBC News report says DeSantis is also going to tweak his communication strategy, though we aren’t seeing any difference yet. On Thursday, the candidate appeared on Fox News, and threatened to investigate Bud Light.

“When you take your eye off the ball like that, you’re not following your fiduciary duty to do the best you can for your shareholders,” he said.

“We’re going to be launching an inquiry about Bud Light, and it could be something that leads to a derivative lawsuit filed on behalf of the shareholders of the Florida pension fund, because at the end of the day, there’s gotta be penalties for when you put business aside to focus on your social agenda at the expense of hardworking people.”

Meanwhile, Florida is facing multiple crises, including skyrocketing homeowner insurance rates.

It sure seems like DeSantis is projecting…

When DeSantis launched his campaign (in a glitchy Twitter Spaces with Elon Musk), he promised to represent Trumpism without Trump. But as it turns out, Republican voters aren’t interested in a crappy, off-putting tribute band.

DeSantis can alter his strategy all he wants, but that doesn’t fix the central problem with his campaign: Himself.

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