Advertisement
Opinion
|
Guest Column
Former allies turn on Gov. DeSantis. Et tu, Matt Gaetz et al? | Column
At the Wednesday debate, DeSantis will not only be trying to save his flailing presidential campaign, but re-establish dominance back here in Florida.
 
Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a campaign stop in Manchester, N.H. on Saturday. U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a former DeSantis ally, is trolling the governor. At a recent event in Iowa, Gaetz revved up a crowd for Donald Trump by saying that the Iowa State Fair served burgers several ways: rare, medium and well-done. “But the most done you can be,” Gaetz added, “is Ron DeSantis.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a campaign stop in Manchester, N.H. on Saturday. U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a former DeSantis ally, is trolling the governor. At a recent event in Iowa, Gaetz revved up a crowd for Donald Trump by saying that the Iowa State Fair served burgers several ways: rare, medium and well-done. “But the most done you can be,” Gaetz added, “is Ron DeSantis.” [ JOE BUGLEWICZ | Joe Buglewicz ]
Published Aug. 22, 2023

Wednesday night’s debate may be a lot like the kids’ table at Thanksgiving, with all the second-tier GOP candidates for president staging a food fight while far-ahead frontrunner Donald Trump relaxes in another room. But it will still be a big day for Ron DeSantis — a chance to possibly right his ship.

Scott Maxwell
Scott Maxwell [ Provided ]

DeSantis stumbled out of the gate with an awkward and glitchy announcement alongside the awkward and glitchy Elon Musk and has been stumbling ever since.

He has fired staff, rebooted his campaign, dropped in the polls, rebooted his campaign again and then dropped even more.

Florida Republicans may still love their governor. But it seems the more the rest of America learns about Ron DeSantis, the less they like.

GOP strategist Sarah Longwell recently told CNN that, for many Republicans, DeSantis has gone from a lead contender to a virtual nobody.

“We always ask people who do you want to see be the 2024 nominee?” she said. “And six months ago, Ron DeSantis, he would always come up. He was the first one. If it wasn’t Trump, it was him. People don’t even mention him right now.”

I’m not writing any political obituaries yet. DeSantis has surprised before.

Still, if you’re looking for evidence that DeSantis has gone from rising star to toxic brand, ignore the liberal critics who’ve never liked him and listen to his former fans. Because some of DeSantis’ harshest critics these days are fellow Republicans who were once his closest allies.

Take Matt Gaetz, for instance. (Please. Somebody. Anyone.) The guy is pounding on DeSantis like a meat cleaver.

DeSantis used to be so smitten with Gaetz that he made him co-chair of DeSantis’ gubernatorial transition team. Politico once described Gaetz as the man who “helped make Ron DeSantis.”

Yet nowadays Gaetz is trolling the governor like a day-old, Moscow-based Twitter account.

At a recent event in Iowa, the Panhandle congressman revved up a crowd for Donald Trump by saying that the Iowa State Fair served burgers several ways: rare, medium and well-done.

“But the most done you can be,” Gaetz added, “is Ron DeSantis.”

Et tu, Matthew?

Then there’s DeSantis’ inner circle of advisors and lobbyists who are now scurrying to the “corporate media” DeSantis loathes to air his dirty laundry.

That has led to stories like the recent Washington Post piece — “‘I could sell golf’: How DeSantis and aides courted lobbyists for campaign cash” — that described a pay-for-access operation that would make prostitutes blush.

The story cited memos and inside sources who said DeSantis offered lobbyists the chance to buy access to Florida’s governor by paying $50,000 for a lunch or round of golf.

Spend your days with Hayes

Subscribe to our free Stephinitely newsletter

Columnist Stephanie Hayes will share thoughts, feelings and funny business with you every Monday.

You’re all signed up!

Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.

Explore all your options

Now, that accusation isn’t new. Four years ago, Florida media got hold of an earlier Team DeSantis fundraising pitch that actually had potential menu prices — everything from $25,000 for a 15-minute meeting with DeSantis to $150,000 for a dinner event.

We hadn’t seen a pay-for-access story like that since Bill Clinton was treating the Lincoln Bedroom like a Holiday Inn.

Still, the bottom line is that stories like these — coupled with ones where DeSantis staffers are griping about the campaign and where DeSantis’ debate prep memo was leaked, revealing all his bash-the-media and attack-Vivek-Ramaswamy talking points — don’t come out unless people on the inside are spilling the beans. And political insiders don’t usually spill the beans unless they think their meal ticket has expired.

Also, pay attention to the winds of change in Tallahassee.

In years past, most Florida Republicans wouldn’t complain if DeSantis brought stray dogs into the legislative dining room to poop on their plates. Heck, some would ask for seconds.

Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson was among the loyal soldiers, subjecting himself to cringe-inducing appearances where he smiled on stage with DeSantis right after the governor vetoed some of Simpson’s top priorities. (Thank you, sir. May I have another?)

Yet this month, Simpson’s energy office sent out emails making sure Floridians knew DeSantis was to blame for blocking a federal energy-rebate program that would’ve saved homeowners $346 million. The email said: “Governor DeSantis used his veto power to eliminate nearly $30 million in energy programs, which … would have provided an opportunity for our office to plan and prepare for nearly $350 million in additional forthcoming funds to support residents of Florida…”

Et tu, Wilton?

I doubt Simpson suddenly summoned his inner courage. (In fact, he dodged follow-up requests to elaborate.) More likely, he has seen that the governor he once thought might be president is now down as much as 40 points in the polls.

So you have Simpson being passive-aggressive, Gaetz being aggressive-aggressive and former Republican Party Chairman Joe Gruters describing DeSantis as petty and vengeful. These are all former DeSantis cheerleaders who’ve turned pouty with their pompoms.

As a result, DeSantis will not only be trying to save his flailing presidential campaign Wednesday night, but re-establish dominance back here in Florida.

See, the reality is that most politicians are about as loyal as a stray cat. They don’t rally around people they like as much as they do around people they fear. And with DeSantis turning what was supposed to be a throne of heir-apparency into just another seat at the kids’ table, a lot of Republicans are looking for another gravy train.

Email Scott Maxwell at smaxwell@orlandosentinel.com.

©2023 Orlando Sentinel. Visit orlandosentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.