‘Clumsy ‘Ron DeSantis’ should be told by advisors when to SMILE’
Ron DeSantis’ campaign wants him to meet with mainstream voters and answer more questions to overcome fears about his temper, DailyMail.com has learned.
The 44-year-old has so far eschewed Q&A sessions on the go, despite this being a standard part of American politics.
The Florida governor, who currently ranks a distant second behind Donald Trump in polls, has also evaded media attention at his public events.
He recently blew up at a reporter in New Hampshire who knocked on his door and asked why he wasn’t answering unwritten questions from the public, casting doubt on his temperament.
And at a campaign event last month in Iowa, footage of DeSantis laughing manically about the cost of running a vintage Porsche sparked online pranks.
Now, three DeSantis staffers have said they are concerned about the Navy veteran’s presentation style after he was overshadowed by his wife Casey at meetings.
Ron DeSantis advisers would love to get him to talk to more voters along the way, after a series of blunders — including this manic laugh at an Iowa event — sparked fears about his temperament and eligibility
The video, which first aired on C-Span, shows the hotly debated Republican talking to a potential voter who made a comment about the cost of running a vintage Porsche, sending Florida’s governor into a dramatic fit of laughter .
They are now devising ways to overcome his rigid appearance as he goes to more dinner parties and meets smaller groups of voters in his bid to clinch the Republican nomination.
“He just needs to relax a bit and be less stiff,” said a source, speaking on condition of anonymity. “He always looks awkward and needs to go out and meet more people.”
Another senior member of Team DeSantis furious: “If his wife is a former TV reporter and she can’t teach him, who can?”
A third source said they even had to coach the Florida governor on “when to smile” when trying to interact with ordinary Americans.
Jason Miller, a senior adviser to the Trump 2024 campaign, said DeSantis had struggled to connect with voters since announcing he had chosen America’s top job.
Another June 1 blunder saw DeSantis snap, “Are you blind?” to an Associated Press report that asked why he didn’t answer voter questions at a rally in New Hampshire
After refusing to answer questions from the public following his first campaign event today in New Hampshire, Ron DeSantis lashed out at a reporter for asking him about it while talking to individual members of the public.
Here’s the video, via @NBCNews ¿> pic.twitter.com/Z2WtLy0JNj
— Jonathan Allen (@jonallendc) June 1, 2023
DeSantis’ wife Casey – pictured in red – is his most trusted political adviser. Her previous career as a TV reporter means she is polished and comfortable around voters and journalists – traits her husband still struggles with
GOP frontrunner Trump hit out at DeSantis during his remarks at the North Carolina state GOP convention on Saturday, admitting he is “not nice” to Florida’s governor
Ron DeSanctimonious’s fundamental problem is that he doesn’t like people. That’s a real challenge when you become president,” Miller told DailyMail.com
“And there’s no way to turn it around because you can’t coach personality,” he added.
Miller’s remarks come on the heels of the former congressman’s glitch-ridden May 24 announcement that he was formally running for the White House.
The audio on the so-called Twitter Space featuring Elon Musk crashed frequently, forcing DeSantis to wait about 20 minutes before he could finally make his pitch to be the Republican nominee.
Since launching his bid in 2024, DeSantis has largely focused on defending his conservative credentials from his tenure as governor of the Sunshine State.
He uses his speeches to highlight his anti-lockdown policies at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, vowing to continue his so-called “war on wake” if elected commander in chief.
Florida’s governor is embroiled in a legal battle with Disney after the animation and theme park giant struck down its so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law.
Trump’s recent legal troubles have boosted his polls — but there’s still a glimmer of hope for DeSantis, with a survey showing he’ll win the former president in the battleground state of Iowa
The battle began last year after the company publicly opposed a state law banning classroom classes on sexual orientation and gender identity in the first grades.
While DeSantis rose to national prominence for his Florida pandemic response, the governor is currently more than 30 percentage points behind ex-President Trump in the polls, according to an average calculated by Real Clear Politics.
The latest figures show that the former commander-in-chief is far ahead with 55.8 percent, compared to DeSantis with 23.5 percent, according to the same source.
He also leads in key early battlefield states such as Iowa and New Hampshire.
The winner of a Republican primary would almost certainly run against incumbent Joe Biden.
The DeSantis team hopes the 76-year-old real estate mogul’s legal troubles will eventually undermine his run in 2024, leaving the road to the nomination open.
But if Trump fends off the entire string of lawsuits and stays in the race, the overcrowded GOP field will leave him as the overwhelming front-runner.
Trump has vowed to continue his White House candidacy even if convicted of a crime, and there are no rules to prevent him from doing so.
The other candidates hoping to win the Republican nomination are ex-New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, ex-South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, and former Vice President of New Jersey. Trump, Mike Pence.
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and talk radio host Larry Elder are also in the running for the GOP nomination.
Only no-hopers Robert F Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist, and self-help author Marianne Williamson have declared their intention to run in the Democratic primary.