Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ status as a likely frontrunner in the 2024 Republican presidential race is quickly being cemented, and, given his performance in the midterms, we’d say that he’s looking like he’s got a pretty good shot at taking the whole thing.
Liberals are terrified by that prospect, so they’re not wasting any time trying to take him out of the whole equation. Here’s The Atlantic’s latest contribution to the effort:
Punchy, smart, and exceptionally well written piece by @MarkLeibovich on the Ron DeSantis phenomenon https://t.co/Qo4T5JmYz5
— Derek Thompson (@DKThomp) November 30, 2022
“Punchy, smart, and exceptionally well written” doesn’t describe any Atlantic piece we’ve seen lately, but maybe this is the one that will change our minds.
(It’s not.)
It is none of these things.
— Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) November 30, 2022
Not even a little bit.
TLDR: There are some Republicans and Floridians who know DeSantis a little better than some of his national media boosters, and they’re basically like: pic.twitter.com/QI5b52kt8u
— Derek Thompson (@DKThomp) November 30, 2022
So, who are these “some Republicans and Floridians who know DeSantis a little better than some of his national media boosters”? They sound like Very Serious People.
Note to the media: if you want to come off as absolute partisan hacks, writing a piece on DeSantis while using Rick Wilson as your primary source, the guy who thinks Glenn Youngkin is a radical extremist, is the way to do it. https://t.co/c6Xipf062r
— Jonah James (@JonahLukeJames) November 30, 2022
Recommended
Rick Wilson, eh?
Rick Wilson? Seriously?
— Greg Wa (@xgwakex) November 30, 2022
lol i feel sorry you think so highly of rick wilson
— kaitlin (@thefactualprep) November 30, 2022
If that doesn’t just say it all.
What a coincidence that Rick Wilson is getting big media writeups for his new project that literally just launched. https://t.co/2KokiGb58E
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) November 30, 2022
So weird, right? Anyway, we’re not sure why we’re supposed to be impressed by Rick Wilson talking smack about Ron DeSantis:
“A strange no-eye-contact oddball,” Rick Wilson, a Republican media consultant, wrote on Resolute Square.
Guess that’s supposed to be the money quote or something. There are a handful of quotes from other reliable sources, of course, including Barbara Comstock and Chris Christie, so you know how much this Atlantic piece is worth.
If I wrote a profile of Joe Biden and only quoted Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, and people of that sort, it would be described as a lot of things, but "smart" and "exceptionally well written" wouldn't be among them https://t.co/mw3KFRcELO
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) November 30, 2022
It would not. And Mark Leibovich’s piece isn’t either of those things; it’s just desperate.
The Atlantic is so desperate to keep Trump around.
Alberta, French, Jeffrey Goldberg, Leibovich….all of them want Trump to get the nomination, so they'll do everything humanely possible to destroy DeSantis and any other legitimate 2024 challenge to him. https://t.co/xNydAbe8fu
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) November 30, 2022
If Ron DeSantis nevertheless persists, the Resistance loses their biggest meal ticket. They can’t have that, and The Atlantic can’t have it, either. The mainstream media can’t have it.
We've had two similar "RDS won't win because he isn't submissive to the donors and consultants" articles in the last week. First from CNN: https://t.co/hi7D46Kd4d
— Varad Mehta (@varadmehta) November 30, 2022
And from the Hill: https://t.co/74gr6ZoaOi
— Varad Mehta (@varadmehta) November 30, 2022
The media are so transparent. They’re not even trying to be sneaky about it.
The first three quotes are from folks who now earn their living spouting anti-GOP talking points on demand. So it's smart only if you stopped paying attention to American politics sometime around 2017. Otherwise, the only thing it's "exceptionally" is misleading. https://t.co/nuX889fbcr pic.twitter.com/PqUkG0oIXY
— Varad Mehta (@varadmehta) November 30, 2022
Far from having anything insightful to say about RDS' chances, this piece is in fact the worst kind of hackery: lazy, phoned-in hackery. RDS does face challenges. But you'll learn none of them from Leibovich, who has his story and is sticking to it. https://t.co/RN1rdVAScl
— Varad Mehta (@varadmehta) November 30, 2022
Sad!
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Related:
Ron DeSantis foils corporate media’s attempt to bait him over Trump with ‘pitch perfect’ response
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