With a beleaguered Donald Trump facing no fewer than six investigations in one form or another, it was only a matter of time before the legacy media aimed its dwindling firepower at another conservative. Increasingly, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has emerged as the heir apparent. This favorite son status needed to be tackled posthaste by the leftist media before he gained too much traction. This is why the Sept. 19 edition of The New York Times reran an “in case you missed it” front-page snippet alerting readers to a magazine profile it recently ran on the Sunshine State’s top elected official.
Some Trump supporters have been making the case that as soon as those on the left believed they had the former president on the ropes, they would go after Ron DeSantis and show him a little chin music. The Times’ article reveals this assessment as right on target. In what was advertised as a 55-minute narration of the piece (an almost incalculable amount of column inches), the Gray Lady ran high and tight on DeSantis with a derogatory article that has the feel of an intentional brushback pitch.
Digging Deep Into Ron DeSantis
Throughout the exposé on the young governor, The Times experimented with a surfeit of monikers. That list included America’s governor, Schrödinger’s candidate*, a latter-day Winston Churchill, and, of course, the one it hopes will stick — the Evolutionary Trump 2.0.
Ron DeSantis (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
Claiming his profile included interviews with more than 100 people, including “aides, allies, antagonists and peers,” author Matt Flegenheimer did not wait long to inform the reader of his over-opinionated appraisal of the Republican. DeSantis presents as “an iron-fisted imitation, touring the country in August with a slate of Trump endorsees who lie about the 2020 election,” he asserted.
In case readers had not formed their own opinion of DeSantis, Flegenheimer enlightened them: “Here is Trump, but more strategic about his targets; Trump, but restrained enough to keep his Twitter accounts from suspension; Trump, but not under federal investigation.”
The article — which queries in its headline, “Is Ron DeSantis the Future of the Republican Party?” — takes up the many sins of the governor, including his “expert-snubbing COVID policies,” along with his “chosen skirmishes” that include a cultural conflict with Disney:
“Of all DeSantis’s chosen skirmishes, his collision with Disney stands apart. For those seeking to understand the de facto governor of Red America in his latest form, this is the skeleton key — the full realization of his bid to fuse cultural clashes and executive vengeance-seeking as his national signature.”
Betwixt a Democratic accounting of the governor’s conservative policy leanings comes a plethora of ad hominem attacks craftily woven throughout the article in the form of negative quotes, a common but transparent journalistic method that allows the author to say all the nasty things he wants without taking ownership. For example, DeSantis has two trusted advisers: Casey (his wife) and “Jesus Christ.” He is a “Catholic” who quotes Scripture (gasp!) and is “an acquired taste” for Republican donors. Those same GOP contributors “used to observe to one another that his clothes never quite fit, wondering aloud if he had a house account at Men’s Wearhouse.”
Ron DeSantis (Photo by Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Utilizing language meant to impress, the author characterizes DeSantis as someone who “has for years merrily shunned the perspectives of moderating influences” and “transmogrified** to pure political upside as he seeks to position himself as his party’s rightful heir.” Fox producers who appreciate the governor’s on-air presence are “edgelord*** media types.” But what put the fear of God into The New York Times was the 44-year-old’s appearance in Pittsburgh, PA.
Despite the newspaper’s declaration that DeSantis is a “wooden speaker,” it described a politician who identified with his audience, made them laugh, and received extended applause. These swing state Republicans were adorned with DeSantis flair that read: “Can’t Miss DeSantis,” “My pronouns are UNVACCINATED,” and “DeSantis 2024: Make America Florida.”
For the Republican voter who believes Trump is hauling too much baggage to be re-elected, remember the leftist legacy media are just cutting their teeth on DeSantis. They have miles to go and thousands of column inches to make Ron DeSantis look like the evil stepchild of Donald Trump. This is because the leftist legacy media have a pathological desire to demonize America First Republicans.
*In 1935, physicist Erwin Schrödinger conducted a thought experiment in which a hypothetical cat could be considered both dead and alive because its fate was linked to an event that may or may not happen.
**A grotesque mutation.
***Defined as a blend of “edge” and “s—lord.” A person who “basks in the bitterness and misery of others.”
