Gov. Ron DeSantis may talk tough, but his no-show at a high-profile conservative conference is earning him a profile in cowardice from the Lincoln Project.
The project is dropping a 45-second ad, "Wannabe," this morning to its millions of followers on social media networks, riffing on DeSantis' decision to stay away from the political equivalent of Mecca for White House hopefuls — this week's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland that started Wednesday.
The Governor has all but declared he's a candidate for President, but his vanishing act shows the real DeSantis is not the tough-talking bully he portrays at his news conferences or in the ad "God Made a Fighter" — especially not if former President Donald Trump might be in the room, according to Rick Wilson, Lincoln Project co-founder.
"He didn't want to have that carefully curated image shattered by Donald Trump stomping his guts out on the stage at CPAC," Wilson said.
This cycle, Trump has jabbed and poked the Governor some say he elevated from a backbench Congressman to Florida's chief executive with his 2018 endorsement. And DeSantis has so far swatted away Trump's "DeSanctimonious" and "globalist" nicknames as signs of "silly season."
But the problem for DeSantis is deadly serious, Wilson says.
DeSantis' CPAC absence, he says, "is one of these things that reminds people that Ron DeSantis and the rest of the Republican field are pretty overpriced stocks politically speaking when they won't stand up and actually face up to Donald Trump and say what they want to the crowd, directly to his face."
The ad starts off with propulsive music and scenes from his "Top Gov" ad showing DeSantis striding toward a jet fighter.
"Never, ever back down from a fight," the clip shows DeSantis declaring as a rule of engagement just after he laces up his heavy boots and zips up his flight suit.
That throbbing music suddenly turns to the sound of crickets as the female narrator intones, "This is his idea of fighting for support at CPAC this week."
The a cappella cricket chirping continues for a full 22 seconds with an overhead view of the Capitol Complex against a darkening sky.
DeSantis can't risk leaving his bubble, it appears, Wilson contends.
"It speaks to the fact that DeSantis is largely a product not of the Republican grassroots base, but rather of the elite Republican donor class …" Wilson said. "So, he's not willing to go and put his hat in the arena where it really counts at CPAC this week.
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