Ron DeSantis had to work on being “sympathetic” and wanted to “figure out” how to distance himself from Donald Trump while not alienating the MAGA base, new preparatory footage for the 2018 debate shows
- Footage shows DeSantis being advised to write “sympathetically” at the top of his notepad on the debate stage because he has an “aggressive” tone
- Sources told ABC News that DeSantis’ recent debate prep includes helping Florida’s governor control his facial reactions
- DeSantis is preparing to enter the 2024 presidential race in the coming weeks
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will have to walk a fine line after already juggling how to handle disagreements with the deeply divisive Donald Trump during the 2018 gubernatorial election, newly revealed pre-debate footage shows.
As DeSantis prepares to enter the 2024 presidential race in the coming weeks, ABC News was given two and a half hours of prep for the debate with the candidate vying for his first term in the Florida State House.
The footage includes two separate prep sessions, including one in which an advisor told DeSantis that he is “aggressive” and should write “LIKABLE” in all caps on top of his notepad immediately upon arriving on the debate stage.
Sources say, according to ABC, DeSantis’ recent debate prep has focused a lot on helping the governor control his facial reactions.
Although DeSantis has not yet announced a presidential candidate, he is already seen as the only one who can put up a good fight against Trump in the primary.
Newly revealed preparatory footage for the 2018 debate shows Ron DeSantis being advised to write “sympathetically” at the top of his notepad onstage because he has an “aggressive” tone
The prep also included DeSantis working to juggle things he “disagrees” with Trump during the gubernatorial debates — likely to come into play in 2024.
An off-camera consultant told DeSantis of his notepad trick, “I do the same thing, because I have the same personality, we’re both aggressive.”
“You want to have that sympathetic, dismissive tone and not condescending,” a consultant tells DeSantis at another point in the video.
DeSantis replies, “Yes, sure.”
Advisors preparing for DeSantis’ 2018 debate included Rep. Matt Gaetz and then-State Representative Byron Daniels who role-played as his opponent.
“Is there an issue on which you disagree with President Trump?” Gaetz asked DeSantis, according to ABC News’ review of the mock debate sessions.
“I need to figure out how to do this,” sighed then-Congressman DeSantis. “Of course it is, because I mean, I voted against him in Congress.”
He added: “I have to word it so that not all his constituents get angry.”
DeSantis said he would likely answer any questions about his alignment with Trump by saying he would “support his agenda,” but always “do what I think is right.”
“If I disagree, I talk to him privately,” he said.
In the 2018 Florida gubernatorial election, DeSantis defeated Democratic nominee and then-Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum by just 0.4% in what was seen as largely a toss to take the seat from outgoing governor Rick Scott.
Trump credits his endorsement for DeSantis’ 2018 victory in Florida. Here, DeSantis shakes hands with his 2018 Democratic opponent, Andrew Gillum
Trump credits his December 2017 endorsement in the primary against Adam Putnam to DeSantis’ victory after trailing in the polls throughout the cycle. When asked during the campaign if he could name an issue he disagreed with Trump, DeSantis didn’t name one.
The former president said earlier this year that it would be “deeply disloyal” for DeSantis to make a primary bid in 2024.
During one point in the preliminary sessions of the 2018 debate, DeSantis said he would “look like a **” if he attacked his opponent the way he was advised.
“Some of the ones that are digs, I don’t think they work,” hear DeSantis, who is currently off-camera.
“I think it makes me look like an a**,” he added.