Now that the walls are closing in on Donald Trump, the New York Times is ramping up its hit pieces on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The standard argument against DeSantis for president is that he’s “MAGA-adjacent” — he might not be Trump, but he’s just as bad as Trump. But what if we’ve already turned the corner and are arguing that DeSantis is worse than Trump? The current Republican is always worse than the previous Republican, after all.
Jamelle Bouie has an opinion piece in the New York Times on “What the Martha’s Vineyard Stunt Says About the Trump Wannabes,” and of course the focus is Trump-wannabe DeSantis.
In Opinion
Ron DeSantis “may be a more competent Trump in terms of his ability to use the levers of state to amass power, but he’s also meaner and more rigid, without the soft edges and eccentricity of the actual Donald Trump,” writes @jbouie. https://t.co/iG8mv63mOW
— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 17, 2022
So DeSantis is “meaner and more rigid” than Trump? Sounds dangerous:
I’m sorry this is happening to you.
— Peekaso (@peekaso) September 17, 2022
Shorter NYT: “he’s actually popular and that is inconvenient for my agenda”
— Ben Morrissey 🇺🇸 (@BenMorrissey16) September 17, 2022
Wanna know who the most successful person in the room is? See who @nytimes goes after.
— I Remember The First Time I Had A Grape (@PeterDeGiglio) September 17, 2022
He's perfect
— Bhuvan_TWTs (@17Kaya_Bhuvan) September 17, 2022
“The asylum seekers are now on their way to Cape Cod, to receive further assistance. The stunt failed to make its intended point,” says Bouie, just kind of conveniently leaving out the part where they’re being sent to a military base on Cape Cod “to receive further assistance.” Martha’s Vineyard didn’t even have them for 24 hours before they called in the National Guard.
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Yes, when viewed from the perspective of partisan media, DeSantis looks almost unstoppable. But to a typical person — someone who may have heard about these stunts but doesn’t know much about DeSantis otherwise — he looks a lot like a bully, someone willing to play high-stakes games with people’s lives for the sake of his own ego and advancement.
Well, you might say, Donald Trump is a bully, too. Yes, he is. But Donald Trump is also a lifelong celebrity with a public persona that is as much about “The Apprentice” and even “Home Alone 2” as it is about his political career. What’s more, Trump has the skills of a celebrity. He’s funny, he has stage presence, and he has a kind of natural charisma. He can be a bully in part because he can temper his cruelty and egoism with the performance of a clown or a showman. He can persuade an audience that he’s just kidding — that he doesn’t actually mean it.
“He’s funny, he has stage presence, and he has a kind of natural charisma” — didn’t know you were such a fan.
Ahhh yes. I remember the hours and hours, pages & pages of all journalists lemanting that "literal Hitler" had soft edges.
🎶 Memories…light the corner of my mind…misty water color memories…🎶
— Shadyhugs (@Shadyhugs) September 17, 2022
Ah the ol’ “every subsequent republican is worse than the last one” trope. You can set your watch by it.
— AC's Dad (@RollTideJT) September 17, 2022
This feels at least 4 years ahead of schedule, but I'm fuzzy on the rehabilitation rules for a single-termer.
— prag ㋬ (@pragmatometer) September 17, 2022
I'd say "cry more" but you already have been. pic.twitter.com/NMePShO2Y5
— Dan Goldwasser (@dgoldwas) September 17, 2022
Same
— max (@MaxNordau) September 17, 2022
The media is getting a head start on framing DeSantis as “meaner” than Trump because they know one day he’ll be unstoppable
— Brendon Leslie (@BrendonLeslie) September 17, 2022
Not news.
I remember when the left clutched pearls that Romney was the new worse and claimed he was going to bring back slavery.
It will never end.
— Justine (@BruinJustine) September 17, 2022
I remember when I thought W was as bad as they get.
— Hyper annoyed (@Hyperannoyed) September 17, 2022
Well alrighty then we’ll go with that one
— lagging for bogey (@MrJsays) September 17, 2022
— American Momma (@American_Momma) September 17, 2022
He's incredibly good, keep seething
— John (@John_Faker) September 17, 2022
Of course now he’s worse than Trump. You’re a clown
— Ingenuous Firebrand (@ING2Firebrand) September 17, 2022
Trump just wanted to build a racist border wall to keep the brown people out. DeSantis is … flying them to Martha’s Vineyard. If we re-elect Trump can we get our border wall, or will DeSantis finish it?
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Related:
Unity! Slate’s Jamelle Bouie: ‘There’s no such thing as a good Trump voter’ https://t.co/vjbdHHY62R
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) November 15, 2016
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