Ron DeSantis's Waterloo Sequel Is As Bad As The Original

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Those wacky Minions.

Unlike director Ridley Scott’s weird beef with historians over his film Napoleon, we take history a little more seriously. It’s why we enjoy the amusing sight of a possibly vertically challenged wannabe despot desperately trying to win in a place named Waterloo.

So, here’s Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis making the futile case that he could clinch the Republican nomination and presidency on CNN’s “State Of The Union.”

After prattling on with the same talking points as every other Republican concerning Israel/Palestine, DeSantis was asked by host Jake Tapper about some anti-Semitism a bit closer to him.

TAPPER: Something happened the other day that I wondered what you thought about, because you launched your campaign on Twitter, now known as X. And, right now, major companies such as Apple and Disney are pulling their ads from X because Elon Musk openly endorsed this anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that Jews are conspiring to replace white Americans with minority immigrants. I wondered if you saw the comment and if you condemn it.

DeSantis, whose entire campaign sounds like terminally online Nazis and who announced (disastrously) his presidential campaign on Twitter, pretended to be a luddite while still defending Musk.

DESANTIS: I did not see the comment. And so, I know that Elon has had a target on his back ever since he purchased Twitter, because I think he's taking it in a direction that a lot of people who are used to controlling the narrative don't like. So I was a big supporter of him purchasing Twitter. I think that they're obviously still working some stuff out, but I did not see those comments.

Tapper, prepared for DeSantis to pull the willful ignorance routine like a common Susan Collins, decided to call his bluff by reading the exact tweet.

Tapper then asked DeSantis why he’s very vocal about any anti-Semitism that he can blame on “the Left” but seems unconcerned about it on his side.

DESANTIS: Across the board. And, actually, I think, in the advent of these attacks, the amount of anti-Semitism that we have seen has really surprised me. And I'm somebody that signed major legislation in Florida to combat anti-Semitism on college campuses. And yet what you have seen come out since then — and you have seen it on both sides. […]

Aww, Ron tried to pull a nostalgic callback to Chuck Todd on a Sunday show. And it might have worked if, like most of his political decisions, he knew when to quit before giving Tapper an opening to call bullshit.

DESANTIS: […] But I would say this. The difference is, is that, on the Left, that tends to be attached to some major institutional power, like some of our most august universities, whereas I think, on the Right, it tends to be more fringe voices that are doing it. […]

TAPPER: I don't know how fringe the voices are, to be completely frank. I mean, Elon Musk is the wealthiest man in the world. […]

Following DeSantis on the show was House Rep. Jamie Raskin, who detoured from the original topic to also call out DeSantis as a fucking liar who refuses to condemn anti-Semitism from the apartheid princeling who owns the rapidly sinking social media site.

RASKIN: Well, the guy’s running for president, and Elon Musk did that on Wednesday. It's Sunday, so this is four days later. And he has not had the chance to read what Elon Musk wrote? That is very hard for me to believe. In any event, you showed it to him, and he still refused to condemn it. […]

Going back to DeSantis, the interview moved on to him trying to make a case for his “electability” but just ended up confirming he’s sociopath and a racist. Tapper played audio of DeSantis dismissing former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s calls for empathy after the tragic murder of George Floyd.

Tapper tried to explain basic humanity to DeSantis to no avail.

TAPPER: So, the officer who knelt on George Floyd's back for almost 10 agonizing minutes, which we saw because that young girl filmed it, he was ultimately convicted of murder. I'm sure you saw the video.

I guess what I — what I think Nikki Haley was — was talking about ... (CROSSTALK)

DESANTIS: Yes, look, that’s fine, Jake. And he should be held accountable.

TAPPER: Let me just .. let me just ...

DESANTIS: OK.

TAPPER: Yes, yes. Let me just ask my question. I think what Governor Haley was going for — and I don't speak for her — but I think what she was going for is, like, watching the video is painful for Americans to see. And do you not think that empathy is an important quality for a U.S. president?

DESANTIS: Of course, it is. Nobody's saying that. But to say that the actions of one police officer means that Americans in Iowa or Texas or Florida, that it should be painful for them, when they had nothing to do with it, that does not make any sense. […] And I would note that was said at the time when we started to see the unrest in this country. And you had massive riots that have destroyed cities like Minneapolis. […] So, the response to that was totally out of bounds. We didn't let that happen in Florida. I called out the National Guard. But that rioting was an absolute disgrace. And it hurt this country.

The idea that feeling basic empathy at seeing the murder of a person “doesn’t make sense” to DeSantis explains why he probably did the same thing is Guantanamo. That the answer to civil unrest after a racist murder is to be an authoritarian fascist should be fully disqualifying. DeSantis also conveniently forgot, like with the Covid restrictions he imposed, that he signed a police reform bill further underlining what a lying empty suit he is — one whose “charm” is not exactly picking up straggler voters from dropped out charisma magnets Tim Scott or Will Hurd.

Source: FiveThirtyEight

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