The *real* problem with Ron DeSantis

It's him.

(Ron DeSantis)

On Christmas Eve, the New York Times dedicated more than 4,000 words to document the decline and fall of Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign.

It is an absolute tour de force, documenting everything that went wrong for DeSantis — from the problem of empowering his super PAC over his campaign to the unexpected impact of a series of indictments of former president Donald Trump.

It’s a remarkable feat of reporting power. (A good guide to journalism: Read anything with Maggie Haberman’s byline on it.)

But, I think I can save about 3,998 of the words in the piece — and still arrive at the same conclusion.

Here’s my two word diagnosis of the problem for Ron DeSantis: Ron DeSantis.

Yes, the weird super PAC set up was bad and problematic from the get go. And yes, DeSantis’ inner circle was too small and not experienced enough in national politics. And triple yes, it might have been impossible to beat a four times indicted former president in this Republican primary. (I still can’t believe that sentence is true. But here we are!)

At root, however, campaigns — especially presidential campaigns — are about the candidate. Is the candidate charismatic? Can he or she connect with audiences? Is he or she persuasive? Are they willing to deliver a negative attack? Can they, in short, perform when the bright lights go on?

For DeSantis, the answer to all of those questions is no. He is, in a word, weird. And weird is a very bad thing to be when you are running for president.

EIGHT months ago I wrote a piece diagnosing this problem for the Florida governor. (It was headlined “Ron DeSantis is a little weird.”). Nothing, really, has changed between then and now.

Here’s how I can prove it to you. Quick, think of what you remember from the campaign (so far) about DeSantis.

Here’s mine.

1. Pudding fingers

2. The “smile”

Right? My guess is that you thought of at least one of these two. Maybe both!

Of course, whether or not DeSantis eats pudding with his fingers (which, gross) and/or the fact that he can’t seem to muster a normal(ish) smile, has no real impact on whether or not he would be able to perform the duties of president.

But, being able to BE president is a different thing from being able to be ELECTED president. And when it comes to being elected, weird is bad. And Ron is decidedly weird. So much so that he has become, in the course of the campaign, a symbol for awkwardness everywhere. “Awkward Americans see themselves in Ron DeSantis,” read on headline in the Washington Post. Not good!

Which is why I am VERY skeptical when people talk about 2024 as a sort of dry run for DeSantis in 2028 when, presumably, Trump is out of the picture one way or another. (Maybe.)

Trump or not, Ron is Ron. And as we have seen, that is someone who is deeply uncomfortable with, well, other people.

(Quick sidebar: How the hell did he get this far in politics with his, er, unique personality? Good question! Here’s my working theory: In Florida, campaigns are largely conducted via TV ads. [The state is simply too big to make a retail campaign workable.] And, in ads, you can shape your message and image. DeSantis has a sterling resume. He has a great looking family. And, if he is required to simply read a script over and over again until he gets it right, he can do that!)

Could he get better at interacting with other humans? I mean, I guess? Al Gore was (and is) sort of socially awkward but over the course of a career in politics sort of figured it out (ish). (Gore, after trying out alpha male, eventually settled on nerdy policy wonk.)

What would worry me if I was on board for the long haul with DeSantis, however, is the fact that he didn’t really improve over the course of this campaign. I mean, maybe, if you look hard enough, he is a better debater than he was at the start. And maybe he is a little more at ease with people? I mean, a little?

We just don’t really change who we are though — especially when we are, like DeSantis, in our mid 40s. And who DeSantis is, as we have seen repeatedly in this campaign, someone not super comfortable in his own skin — and certainly not someone who seems to enjoy being around other people.

That, ultimately, is what has doomed him in the race. If the center of the campaign is a dud, the entire campaign — even if it was perfectly run (and this one wasn’t) — is VERY likely to be a dud.

That’s just facts.