Here’s my version of the media’s latest attack on Gov. Ron DeSantis, which every news outlet has been repeating on a 5-minute loop. Turn on the TV right now and someone will be sneering at DeSantis for allegedly not denouncing Trump.
Actual headlines:
Christie: DeSantis is afraid to offend Trump | NewsNation GOP Debate
‘Just Answer the Question!’: Christie Slams DeSantis for Refusing to Say Whether Trump Is Fit for Office
‘Fit or Unfit?’: Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis Clash Over Trump at GOP Debate
Media-to-Normal Person translation: He didn’t say exactly what we wanted him to say, so we shall chant, Answer the question! Answer the question! Answer the question!
This is a popular technique at my college speeches. Very mature.
Here’s how DeSantis actually answered the question, which I’ve edited, mostly by eliminating 98% of the “ANSWER THE QUESTION!” chants.
Moderator: “Do you think [Trump] is mentally fit to be president?” DeSantis: “I think we need to have somebody younger. I think when you get up to 80, I don’t think it’s a job for that, but let me just respond to some of the things there.” [A+ for legitimate attack on both Biden and Trump at once.]
DeSantis: “Look, the media’s making a big deal about what he said …. [Journalists and Trump cultists are the only people in the world who still think Trump means anything he says.]
DeSantis: “I would just remind people that is not how he governed. He didn’t even fire Dr. Fauci. He didn’t fire Christopher Ray. He didn’t clean up the swamp. He said he was going to drain it. He did not drain it. He said he was going to build the wall and have Mexico pay for it. We don’t have the wall. He did say in 2016 he’d have the largest deportation program in history. He deported less than Barack Obama did when Barack Obama was president.
[DING, DING DING! WINNER! WINNER! TRUE AND DEVASTATING. A+++++++++++++++]
Media/Christie: NOT THE ANSWER WE WANTED! Answer the question! Answer the question! Answer the question! Answer the question! Answer the question! Answer the question!
Christie: Why doesn’t he just answer the question? The question was very direct. Is he fit to be president or isn’t he? .. DeSantis: You have your thing. ..
Christie: No, I don’t have my thing. He’s the thing. Is he fit or isn’t he?…[Moderator to DeSantis]: So you do think he’s fit? REPEATED TO ETERNITY. Um, that WAS the answer, media — just not the answer you wanted.
The fact that Trump is unqualified to be president has nothing to do with his age or mental decline. The problem is, he’s lazy, incompetent and venal, and he abandoned all his campaign promises the moment he became president. I assume he was lazy, incompetent and venal at age 18, too. (Maybe there’s a reason he had someone else take his SATs for him.)
It’s like a girl being asked about a guy:
Q: Is he too short for you?
A: No, he’s too stupid.
Q: But is he too short?
A: No. He’s brainless! Here, I’ll give you five examples …
Q: So you won’t answer the question?
Christie butts in: I’ll answer that question since she won’t. Yes, he’s too short. Why am I the only person on this stage willing to say it?
[Media breathe a sigh of relief at having finally manipulated someone into adopting their position: TOO SHORT!]
Christie shouldn't comment about whether or not anyone else is "fit" for anything...
I thought DeSantis campaign wasn't going too well at first. Now he is rising with sharper messages especially pointing out how Trump had great promises YET failed to implement the most important campaign promises. Tax cut, fine. But where are mass deportation and wall or draining swamp. We can all blame Biden but had he built the wall, far few would have crossed the border. So called Trumpism is great and that was Trump's role to get started with it. Now someone like Ron DeSantis to get it done. Trump had a chance and didn't do. Are we dumb enough to give him another chance and see him not doing again? That's too risky