How is his campaign so bad at this? You said what I was thinking, by associating himself with Musk, he gets drawn into whatever controversy he creates next, manufactured or otherwise.
If I was conspiracy minded I might think DeSantis was some sort of stalking horse just out there on Trump’s behalf to block the lesser candidates from getting too close to Trump. Or that Musk was somehow sabotaging DeSantis with this ineffective launch.
I’m sure they’re both such egotists that neither of those can be true.
FDR was able to do the fireside chats almost a century ago and people could tune in and hear it.
I love it when rich morons born on third base who think they hit triples, convinced of their own genius, are revealed to the entire world as the droolers they are.
Presidential campaigns are not just about the candidate but about the staff the candidate chooses to run various aspects of what is essentially a huge media operation. The smoothness, or lack thereof, is an indicator of how the candidate would fare as a potential president and his/her ability to choose qualified people to help the country.
Botching your own rollout, not only speaks to the quality of DeSantis's current team, but also to his ability to surround himself with quality people, and, considering this debacle, is as troubling as anything else.
Late to the party, however, it was all so predictable. Who would have thought this was a good idea? Seriously, was not a well thought plan and if the campaign can’t get this right, he’s in bigger trouble than I thought. Jeez. The escalator ride was obnoxious, egotistical and just grated on my nerves. However, it wasn’t botched, unless you are talking about the supposed rapists and murderers. DeSantis has been in politics long enough to know how this should have been rolled out.
DeSantis and his campaign has missed the key point of how they can run against Trump. David Frum captured it well... it was never about the policies and always about the style. If DeSantis was ever going to endear himself to the Trumpista voters, he was going to have to be a better jouster than Trump. Instead he's shown himself time and again to fear the joust and cede the field to Trump. This is the cardinal sin to Trumpistas everywhere. They live for the fight, the anger, the name calling, etc. and DeSantis is just DeScared.
This feels a bit like trying to teach an elderly relative to use FaceTime and the frustration of having the endeavour fail over and over again. Twitter Spaces is a beta product (at best) and certainly not designed for what was tried. The whole thing is a family-sized Charlie Foxtrot that's going to linger for a long while.
I was on Twitter at the time of the announcement debacle and things were right as rain there. No glitches. So the one they were using must not have to do with the one I was.
As far as DeSantis making an impression with his 'Coming Out' party on Twitter it served to support all the news we have been inundated with about how he is running Florida. Anyone who was queueing up to hear the announcement wasn't going to get a new and different guy. We have real life examples of how he governs and what his hot buttons are and how he uses the system to bully his positions into law. Trump put a bunch of lackeys into all the Departments heads because he thought rich people could rule better. DeSantis will put his lackeys into those positions because they support his warped concept of Democracy. What we will not get is a team of leaders who want to steer the country towards the future where we remain number 1.
“I am running for president of the United States to lead our great American comeback.” is MAGA 2.0.
I’d put that event right up there with Rudy’s Four Seasons gig.
How is his campaign so bad at this? You said what I was thinking, by associating himself with Musk, he gets drawn into whatever controversy he creates next, manufactured or otherwise.
If I was conspiracy minded I might think DeSantis was some sort of stalking horse just out there on Trump’s behalf to block the lesser candidates from getting too close to Trump. Or that Musk was somehow sabotaging DeSantis with this ineffective launch.
I’m sure they’re both such egotists that neither of those can be true.
FDR was able to do the fireside chats almost a century ago and people could tune in and hear it.
Two highly intelligent but socially clueless individuals conspired to blow themselves up!
Trying for a unique announcement format, and it certainly was unique.
DeSantis should fire his entire Campaign Staff and seek to hire some experienced Pros, if any will want to work for him!
Chris, I think we're missing the biggest takeaway from all this.
How did Trump settle on Meatball Ron or Ron DeSanctamonious, when Desaster was right there??
I love it when rich morons born on third base who think they hit triples, convinced of their own genius, are revealed to the entire world as the droolers they are.
Presidential campaigns are not just about the candidate but about the staff the candidate chooses to run various aspects of what is essentially a huge media operation. The smoothness, or lack thereof, is an indicator of how the candidate would fare as a potential president and his/her ability to choose qualified people to help the country.
Botching your own rollout, not only speaks to the quality of DeSantis's current team, but also to his ability to surround himself with quality people, and, considering this debacle, is as troubling as anything else.
Reminds me of the 1950's NASA rocket sitting on the launch pad, 3, 2, 1 -- All that happens is the escape chute pops out the top.
Talk about failure to launch....
Late to the party, however, it was all so predictable. Who would have thought this was a good idea? Seriously, was not a well thought plan and if the campaign can’t get this right, he’s in bigger trouble than I thought. Jeez. The escalator ride was obnoxious, egotistical and just grated on my nerves. However, it wasn’t botched, unless you are talking about the supposed rapists and murderers. DeSantis has been in politics long enough to know how this should have been rolled out.
Chris, the title of your Substack is all the commentary that was needed on DeSantis’s announcement, but thanks for going beyond the bare necessities.
DeSantis and his campaign has missed the key point of how they can run against Trump. David Frum captured it well... it was never about the policies and always about the style. If DeSantis was ever going to endear himself to the Trumpista voters, he was going to have to be a better jouster than Trump. Instead he's shown himself time and again to fear the joust and cede the field to Trump. This is the cardinal sin to Trumpistas everywhere. They live for the fight, the anger, the name calling, etc. and DeSantis is just DeScared.
As I have said before about DeSantis... Jeb!
I couldn't help but think of a self-driving Tesla being a metaphor for this launch.
This feels a bit like trying to teach an elderly relative to use FaceTime and the frustration of having the endeavour fail over and over again. Twitter Spaces is a beta product (at best) and certainly not designed for what was tried. The whole thing is a family-sized Charlie Foxtrot that's going to linger for a long while.
Let us vet the amazingly spectacular Wannabe Mussolini failure on so many levels:
1. a. "I want to be the Leader of the Free World...but I need to have the richest person in the entire world in on my announcement."
1.b. "If elected president promise I will be the best Robin to Elon Musk's Batman, when he gives me the go ahead to do so."
2. "I will choose the best and the brightest advisors...like the third tier political consultants I've hired for my campaign."
3. "I want to show that I can do retail politics...and will do so from an out-of-the-top-ten commercial social network."
4. "I will show I am a humble and a human-type-of-guy...but I'll blame the people around me and woke Dems for my failure."
I was on Twitter at the time of the announcement debacle and things were right as rain there. No glitches. So the one they were using must not have to do with the one I was.
As far as DeSantis making an impression with his 'Coming Out' party on Twitter it served to support all the news we have been inundated with about how he is running Florida. Anyone who was queueing up to hear the announcement wasn't going to get a new and different guy. We have real life examples of how he governs and what his hot buttons are and how he uses the system to bully his positions into law. Trump put a bunch of lackeys into all the Departments heads because he thought rich people could rule better. DeSantis will put his lackeys into those positions because they support his warped concept of Democracy. What we will not get is a team of leaders who want to steer the country towards the future where we remain number 1.
“I am running for president of the United States to lead our great American comeback.” is MAGA 2.0.