Hundreds of documents posted online by a firm owned by the chief strategist of Ron DeSantis’ super PAC have provided an extensive look at the cringeworthy advice guiding the Florida governor as he preps for the GOP presidential debate next week.
“There are four basic must-dos,” said one memo obtained by The New York Times. Referring to DeSantis as “GRD,” it said: “1. Attack Joe Biden and the media 3-5 times. 2. State GRD’s positive vision 2-3 times. 3. Hammer Vivek Ramaswamy in a response. 4. Defend Donald Trump in absentia in response to a Chris Christie attack.”
Citing “Roger Ailes’ Orchestra Pit Theory,” the document recommended DeSantis go especially hard on Ramaswamy, who is rising in the polls, with the rather lame, Trump-style insult of “Fake Vivek” or “Vivek the Fake.”
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Ramaswamy responded to the advice in a tweet Thursday, hitting back at DeSantis with an insult of his own.
“Another boring, establishment attack from Super PAC-creation ‘Robot Ron’ who is literally taking lame, pre-programmed attack lines against me for next week’s debate,” Ramaswamy wrote.
Another suggestion subtly refers to DeSantis’ notorious awkwardness, telling him to “invoke a personal anecdote story about family, kids, Casey” while noting he needs to be “showing emotion.”
In a statement to Semafor, a spokesperson for Ramaswamy referenced that awkwardness even further, specifically an infamous anecdote (first reported by The Daily Beast) that DeSantis ate pudding using his three fingers.
“Vivek’s job on Aug 23 is to introduce himself and his vision to the American people. These boring, canned attack lines from a robotic candidate doesn’t change that,” the spokesperson said. “If DeSantis struggles to use a spoon, I can’t imagine he is particularly agile with a sledgehammer.”
DeSantis’ campaign and super PAC did not respond to The New York Times’ requests for comment, although the PAC took down the memo after the Times reached out.
By law, super PACS are barred from privately strategizing with political campaigns. But the groups often utilize a legal loophole by publicly posting their documents, typically in hidden, hard-to-find places in hopes no one will uncover their (often embarrassing) advice.
Read it at The New York Times
