If you’re looking to place blame for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ struggling presidential campaign, there are a number of culprits.
Some might say his subpar social skills are the reason he trails Donald Trump by more than 30 percentage points in some national polls. Others might say it’s his extremist agenda that’s a turnoff. Sadly for DeSantis, these traits of his seem immutable.
But one clear way that DeSantis’ presidential campaign has shot itself in the foot is through its leader’s insular media habits. For a man who claims to relish conflict and a man who frames his political battles as comparable to actual wars, DeSantis has been remarkably sheltered. He’s been unwilling (or, in my view, afraid) to make his arguments outside the conservative media bubble.
Over at the Columbia Journalism Review, writer Bob Norman compiled a thorough history of DeSantis’ efforts as governor — and now as a candidate — to shelter himself from criticism, marginalize and weaken traditional media outlets, and prop up conservative news organizations he considers more favorable to him.
For a man who claims to relish conflict and a man who frames his political battles as comparable to actual wars, DeSantis has been remarkably sheltered.
DeSantis is still quite touchy about the topic of news coverage. Just last weekend, he was blaming “corporate outlets” for casting a pall over his campaign (I’m honored, personally).
But faltering poll numbers and the possibility of defecting donors can prompt a change of heart for candidates in free fall, which appears to be why the DeSantis campaign agreed to a rare interview with CNN.
In Florida, DeSantis has been allowed to play king when it comes to his dealings with the media. But in the presidential race, he has been reduced to a pauper, desperate for any positive coverage he can find.
He tried to make hay in Tuesday’s interview with Jake Tapper.
Aaaaand it didn’t go well.
Below, check out a clip of Tapper citing a survey disproving DeSantis’ claim that so-called wokeness in the military is harming recruitment. The interview aired hours after DeSantis unveiled his plan to remove said wokeness (i.e., policies around diversity, equity and inclusion) from the military. In fact, Tapper says, the survey shows that concerns about racism and sexism rank far above concern about wokeness.
DeSantis was ill-prepared to see his campaign’s crown jewel smashed to pieces before his very eyes.
Tapper points to a survey that shows "wokeness" isn't high on the list of concerns with military recruitment.
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) July 18, 2023
DeSantis: "Not everyone really knows what wokeness is. I mean, I’ve defined it, but a lotta people who rail against wokeness can’t even define it." pic.twitter.com/JT0rwfXTSV
I love how DeSantis refuses to take the paper. He’s like, “Jake, I CANNOT be seen looking down at this paper that shows my entire campaign is a sham. This will go viral. Please stop offering it to me!”
Aside from that, it was standard fare from DeSantis. Anti-trans hysteria. Anti-abortion hysteria. You know the routine. And that unnerving, piercing gaze he gives people while they tell him things he doesn’t like. If I can offer any advice to DeSantis, it’s that he fix his face when he’s in listening mode. This way, he won’t look like Michael Corleone staring down Sollozzo before he offs him in “The Godfather.”
Maybe I’m nitpicking?
Anyway — ultimately, this interview was far from the lion’s den. Tapper is more like a house cat: low-key and sometimes temperamental. But this also wasn’t the same as Fox News interviewing DeSantis on a baseball field earlier this year, which was about as close to literally lobbing softballs as an interview can get.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.