Casey DeSantis

Think this deserves its own thread. Long hit piece in Politico today, almost all unsourced personality observations. It obviously has Susie Wiles and Trump staff fingerprints on it. But it landed in Politico - the preeminent DC political gossip piece and will be read and talked about at length by everyone in that community.

Not sure what I think about it. I don't see this as an "attack on the spouse", which I often condemn, because she has consciously inserted herself in his governance. Nothing inherently wrong with that, but it does make you a fair target.

I have never liked the attacks that an official (usually a man), relies too heavily on the advice of his "unelected" wife. All advisers are unelected - you elect the official in part based on their judgment of who to surround themselves with. And I would be suspect of anyone did not rely heavily on input from their spouse - sign of a healthy marriage.

Also not sure how much of this is sexism - lizard brain perceptions of any ambitious woman judged in a way that a man would not be,

The question here is whether this is something beyond the norm and unhealthy. She has made enemies, to be sure. It's petty, but I thought the same thing about the Jackie O white gloves thing.

What I found most interesting is something hinted at between the lines right at the end - that she may be trying to eclipse him. This has been gossiped about for awhile - I posted it somewhere here before. Something to follow:


Storm clouds loomed when the DeSantises arrived this past Saturday in Iowa. In their first stop, midday in Sioux Center at GOP Rep. Randy Feenstra’s annual “family picnic,” the weather windy and cool with a whiff of hog confinement in the air, she was unexpectedly and uncharacteristically uninvolved. She sat at a table up front next to the governor of Iowa but was not invited to speak. She briefly waved from the stage before mingling for a short time with some of the hundreds of people who had gathered on her way back to a waiting SUV. When her husband went to flip hamburgers and pork chops for a couple minutes for a jostling crescent of cameras, she did not. People with the picnic had ready a red apron with his name on it, and one for her, too. “Where’s Casey?” he said.




Some five hours later, over here in Cedar Rapids, she was on the stage.

“Tell us,” the head of the Iowa Republican Party said of one of her signature issues, “about Hope Florida.”

And then she talked for the next eight minutes, longer than her husband’s two answers to that point combined, as he sat there, looking at her, looking toward the crowd, looking into space, looking sort of impatient, looking finally a kind of I know amused, waiting.


A little body language here that he was impatient with her and feeling eclipsed, but that is a persistent rumor. Also, if you see the picture, she is set up with a mic pack as if she expected to speak but was not "invited to speak". And then she didn't do the burger flip photo op. Not sure if they are trying to hint that she was angry and retaliating or didn't want her white glove image sullied with burgers. But it seems a bit petty while also potentially telling.

 

That is the way I used to see it, but may because I'm reading it in the context of a string of pieces like this, I viewed it as a bit of a hit piece on her. At least that's what I think it's best to be interpreted. I listed my qualifications on whether that's appropriate. But I do think that that is the way it is supposed to be interpreted. But obviously I could be wrong. Be curious what others think

 

I will add that one thing that this piece points me to that is independent of ideology. Obviously I don't like DeSantis because of his substantive positions. But even if I did, I would be wary of his ability to effectively govern. He doesn't seem to have the core of long-term staff that usually mark every successful presidency.

One of the reasons I think Biden could be successful in another term despite his age is that he has a strong core of loyal staffers with little drama.

The job is just too big to be successful in without competent loyal staff that know you. Too many places you cannot be. I'm surprised he has been as effective as he has (in a perverse way) as Florida's governor given how dysfunctional he has been in staff and personal relationships.

Constant intimidation is only effective for so long, especially when you get up to the next level with a lot of independent power bases.

Edited to add: The decision to treat Susie Wiles so shabbily is already hurting him in unnecessary ways. An example of the deficiencies I was pointing to

 

He supposedly has a strong grasp of policy in front of donors. Then again, donors are typically wealthy people that are flattered too often to appreciate the extent of their personal ignorance.

I don’t doubt he is intellectually capable, but his public persona is one of proud performative ignorance

 

That's really good. Is that an original? I may steal that, with your permission.