Watch DeSantis’ Mask Fall Off Under Pressure

This reminds me of the disclosure scene in a sci fi movie, where you find out that the creature pretending to be human is really a vampire, space alien, whatever. The fangs come out, the skin is ripped to reveal scales beneath, you’ve seen it. Here is the GOP version, where Ron DeSantis, doing his best to seem not only human, but a leader, lets his guard down for a moment and you see his true feelings, petulance and annoyance — and later on I’m sure Casey saw rage. As a matter of fact, I can see the two of them raging together after Jacksonville. It was not a fun outing.

DeSantis canceled his Iowa campaign-binge, albeit reluctantly, because Hurricane Idalia bade him come home. Idalia was a real lady, too, she splintered an oak and dropped it on his lawn, but stopped short of crushing the pillars of his house. That was Idalia delivering a message from God, I wouldn’t count on leniency again, Ronnie.

Alas DeSantis’ constituents in Florida were not so accommodating. They made their displeasure known long and loud. And Ronnie ignored their bad manners and kept smiling, as did Casey, and while I can’t speak for the folks in Jacksonville, that would have only pissed me off more, had I been there. This was a group of people in pain and a pair of grinning clowns was not appropriate. But then reading the room is not Ronnie’s strong suit. This is a short tape. Watch closely to see when the grin leaves and the glare begins.

The reception Ron receives in his home state makes it clear – it's time for him to call it quits. pic.twitter.com/0hQP1weJyB

— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) September 1, 2023

Here’s a longer version and the angle is better to see the baleful glare.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was booed Sunday in Jacksonville at a vigil for the fatal shooting of three Black people by a 21-year-old white man. pic.twitter.com/7jJ70C5Ki7

— The Associated Press (@AP) August 28, 2023

And this has not aged well. Not a tall a tall.

Ron DeSantis scoffed when the NAACP issued a travel advisory this spring warning Black people to use “extreme care” if traveling to Florida.

Just three months later, DeSantis is leading his state through the aftermath of a racist attack that left three African Americans dead.…

— Steve Peoples (@sppeoples) August 29, 2023

This is councilwoman Angie Nixon giving DeSantis the evil eye.

Mood. pic.twitter.com/wWiY5GEZm8

— Ashley V. Gantt (@Gantt4Florida) August 28, 2023

Nick Catoggio:

….a prominent Republican addressing a general audience of black Americans? Awkwardness abounds. Friction is all but unavoidable, even on the most solemn occasions. No wonder it happens so rarely.

Blame Republicans for that. The so-called “southern strategy” that drew Dixiecrats from Team Blue to Team Red cemented the GOP as a heavily white party, willing to kiss off votes from the black minority by championing the grievances of the white majority. It was a ruthless yet fruitful trade-off in the medium term and it persists in some forms to this day. (See, for instance, the party’s dogged and dopey defense of Confederate iconography.) In the longer term, as America’s racial demographics have changed, it looks less fruitful.

Perhaps that’s begun to change under Trump as the GOP goes about remaking itself as a champion of the multiracial working class, ditching its “rich white guy” image. I wouldn’t bet my life on it, though. A populism that believes Trump’s mugshot is some sort of political masterstroke that connects with black voters is a populism that has a long way to go toward understanding unfamiliar constituencies.

I don’t think Trump is winning over the gangstas, although anything is possible. I do think DeSantis has proven himself to be a racist and it simply is not going over well in his home state, nor anywhere else.

The Lincoln Project is right. Time to hang it up, Ron. And it may come sooner rather than later. Last I knew DeSantis needed $50 million desperately. I would tend to think that means that the big money donors are not filling his PAC coffers. Well, Ron, you know what they say in Hollywood, “money talks and bullshit walks” and right now the money people are not exactly getting whiplash reaching for their checkbooks. How are you and Rupert doing lately?