Politico Hit Piece On Casey DeSantis Uses Trump Confidant Roger Stone As Source (Seriously)
They will always tell you who they fear: “Have you ever noticed how much Ron DeSantis’ wife Casey is like Lady Macbeth?”
As recently as last year, we were hearing from the media about how the vocal and engaged participation of a male candidate’s spouse in his political campaign was a good thing because it a) showed he trusted her and appreciated her willingness to put herself out there on his behalf, and b) helped bring about a turning point in public perceptions of the evolving roles female spouses play in these types of campaigns which, for the most part, has been to blend into the background while the candidate did his thing.
This was a near-constant drumbeat in the media in 2022, where we were treated to one glowing puff piece after another about then-Senate candidate John Fetterman’s wife Gisele, and how she had selflessly stepped in and took control of his campaign after the debilitating stroke he suffered in May 2022, two days before the Pennsylvania Democratic primary.
All the fawning coverage paid off for Gisele Fetterman after the election, culminating in her winning a media award for being “the extraordinary woman behind the victory in a national race for control of the U.S. Senate”:
All sorts of speechless, overwhelmed and humbled. 🥹❤️ https://t.co/ioojXf6GbZ
— Gisele Barreto Fetterman (@giselefetterman) December 20, 2022
Fast forward to May 2023, and now some in the MSM have oh-so-conveniently switched gears, as evidenced by a Politico hit piece not just on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is rumored to be on the verge of announcing his 2024 presidential candidacy, but also his wife Casey, who we’re being told is “his biggest asset and his biggest liability.” DeSantis, they also suggest, relies too much on her opinion instead of that of political consultants:
“Have you ever noticed,” Roger Stone, the notorious political mischief-maker who is both a DeSantis antagonist and a many-decades-long Trump loyalist, remarked in a Telegram post last fall, “how much Ron DeSantis’ wife Casey is like Lady Macbeth?” — an agent, in other words, of her husband’s undoing.
[…]
“He’s a leader who makes political decisions with the assistance of his wife, who was elected by nobody, who’s blindly ambitious,” said a former DeSantis administration staffer. “And she sees ghosts in every corner.”
“She’s more paranoid than he is,” said a second staffer.
“He’s a vindictive motherfucker. She’s twice that,” said a higher-up on one of his campaigns. “She’s the scorekeeper.”
[…]
“Does she sort of humanize the robot? Does she push him on the grip-and-grin, the baby-kissing, give him a cleaner, softer image? Yes,” said another former gubernatorial staffer. “Does she also feed into his, I guess, worst instincts, of being secluded and insular and standoffish with staff? Yes.”
And it’s not just opponents and others with axes to grind who think this. “She is both his biggest asset and his biggest liability. And I say biggest asset in that I think she does make him warmer, softer,” Dan Eberhart, a DeSantis donor and supporter, told me. “But he needs to be surrounded with professional people, not just her,” he said.
“I’ve heard from staffers frustrated that they think the governor’s made a decision, he talks to her, comes back, the decision is the opposite or different,” he said.
The article was quickly panned, not just because of its weak and biased “sourcing,” but also for the substance or lack thereof:
When you’ve entertained some stupid Roger Stone comment for several paragraphs, that’s how you know you write totally garbage. Also, note, any piece that includes @DavidJollyFL is going to be a deranged hit piece. @michaelkruse https://t.co/J4nvZUKLgC
— Karol Markowicz (@karol) May 19, 2023
Politico, November 2022: Comparing women in politics to Lady Macbeth is a sexist trope.
Politico, May 2023: You know, come to think of it, there’s this one Shakespeare character that Casey DeSantis really reminds me of… pic.twitter.com/cZEVQHjbsr
— Nate Hochman (@njhochman) May 19, 2023
A disgusting hit piece on Casey DeSantis, who my family and I know well and is a dear friend. Media lowlifes just cannot control themselves. Michelle Obama, Jill Biden treated like saints. I’ll address this on radio this evening.
They pulled the same crap on Nancy Reagan, by…
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) May 19, 2023
This is such a deranged and catty piece from @michaelkruse I can only assume she once rejected him or something. His evidence she plays too prominent role? DeSantis’ most rabid opponents don’t like her and campaign mailers also picture HER. LOL. https://t.co/PSlzQ5Zp61
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) May 19, 2023
Disparaging Casey DeSantis is a bad look. Period. No explanations necessary. It will not play well.
In this article, Politico even cites "Casey's role" in getting Susie Wiles fired (who knows if this is true). After this, Trump hired her, she encouraged him to endorse Blake… pic.twitter.com/Ce4TXtsOte
— Tina.. (@tallytina27) May 19, 2023
The fascinating arc of history in which the founder of a "NeverTrump" organization is touting a piece about Casey DeSantis organized around a Lady MacBeth analogy that's based on a quote from, um, Roger Stone.https://t.co/Uhs2FhX3WY
— Ross Douthat (@DouthatNYT) May 19, 2023
The Lincoln Project and their media buds attacked Casey DeSantis before Trump did. Do you get the game yet?
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) May 20, 2023
I mean, does Politico – which has become the media’s unofficial headquarters for DeSantis Derangement Syndrome – really think that DeSantis, who won reelection in historic numbers, trusting his wife more than GOP consultants should actually be considered a negative?
Oh, my God—the sources on this Casey DeSantis hit piece are all sad sacks and hacks full of sour grapes.
Ron DeSantis eschews GOP consultants and lobbyists and trusts his wife’s counsel instead? The horror! 😱 https://t.co/QfV5NVMaIj
— Hammerjack 🐊🇺🇸 (@Hammerjack90) May 19, 2023
Clearly intended hit piece on Casey DeSantis actually has the opposite effect, this could be a description of my wife too: “an antidote for her sometimes awkward husband, social in a way that he is not, charismatic in a way that he is not” https://t.co/h4axfsnJMM
— William A. Jacobson (@wajacobson) May 19, 2023
Ron DeSantis is close to his wife, deeply respects her, they work in lockstep, and she sees them not as in competition but that his success is her success?
Put this down as a big plus in the ‘RD advantage in winning the nom’ column. https://t.co/fnkQkf0KCu— Rebeccah Heinrichs (@RLHeinrichs) May 19, 2023
Further, is personally attacking the spouses of Republican presidential candidates really a road the media wants to go down? Because a whole lot of Democratic spouses including First Lady Jill Biden and California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s wife Jennifer will be in for rude awakenings as far as conservative media outlets go if that’s the case.
Relatedly, according to the Huffington Post, apparently we’re supposed to believe that DeSantis being “more informed, tactical and calculated” also “makes him way more dangerous” than former President Donald Trump:
The Florida governor is more informed, tactical and calculated, which makes him way more dangerous. https://t.co/Va82zWJfsM
— HuffPost Politics (@HuffPostPol) May 17, 2023
Read this to see how much the left fears Ron DeSantis.
I'm not sick of winning yet.https://t.co/s4BoTaNDv1
— Max. (@MaxNordau) May 18, 2023
The View's Sunny Hostin is scared because Ron DeSantis offers "Trumpism without Trump."
"So those people so repelled by Donald Trump, and there are many people, won't be as repelled by him, I think." pic.twitter.com/7ZlDJaFF06
— Scott Morefield (@SKMorefield) May 16, 2023
I just can’t with these people anymore. I simply can’t.
— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —
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Comments
“Trumpism without Trump”. That is the ticket and Democrats, media know it.
There is no Trump police’s without Trump
Trump is the biggest problem with Trump
Yeah. Yeah, there are. Sorry.
Kari Lake for president… someday.
Pretty sure hell will freeze over first.
False. Mass welfare (i.e. TrumpBux), anti-gun ATF appointees, and other anti-MAGA policies are available from any other Democrat too.
I’ll just state the obvious: Roger Stone is VERY heavily indebted to DJT. We should expect him to repay the debt at every opportunity. This was a small opportunity for Mr. Stone.
The quotes from bevy of Lincoln Project weirdos along with Roger Stone, who is not exactly strait laced himself, in collaboration with ‘professional’ GoP establishment hacks, all spurned by DeSantis and who have an ax to grind against him are supposed to make us not like DeSantis? B/C the man uses his wife as his sounding board instead of a bunch of perennial loser consultants?
This is an opening salvo of folks who don’t like DeSantis. The lefty media will throw gas on the fire, some less than honest politicians may jump on board as well but if they do they reveal themselves as carrying water for the DC establishment who hates DeSantis b/c he wouldn’t play the DC cocktail party, go along/get along games.
So no mention of the wonderful treatment of Melania Trump?
What’s the point? Proggies gotta prog, that’s a given.
She’s not news. Trump is for all the wrong reasons.
The author of the piece did not seek out Stone for comment. To say he was a “source” is not a model of accuracy.
And to say Stone said it “for the article” is inaccurate. It was a remark from last November, in another context.
A hit piece on a Republican wide is hardly breaking news. Insiders playing insider games for insiders who take everything to extremes and make mountains from molehills, This is why so many hate both media and politics. It diverts from the real stuff going on, and furthers the perception and reality that America is going down the tubes. Thank you Politico and all those who eat this stuff up.
You wrote: “And to say Stone said it “for the article” is inaccurate. It was a remark from last November, in another context.”
Fixed, thanks!
https://www.cnn.com/2017/04/09/opinions/melania-trump-cyberbully-spokeswoman-opinion-hughes/index.html
Look at the source, and the date of the article. CNN of all people understood attacks on Melania Trump are not acceptable.
Now here is the NYTimes
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/20/us/politics/melania-trump-cyber-bullying.html
It does not get worst than CNN or New York Times as far as media goes.
The amount of unprovoked attacks on somebody’s wife regardless of when it was done should be zero.
USA Today did not misquote, or take anything from Stone out of context it simply used his words.
I am unaware of any attacks on the first lady, or former first lady from any DeSantis confidants, nor am I aware of Biden’s staff making Melania Trump an issue, or of them attacking Casey DeSantis.
Sadly while this shows a lack of care for winning over the public from Roger Stone compared to Trump he is FDR (in terms of getting votes).
Trump meeting with Kanye after he came out as an anti-Semite, failing to do research in order to know who not to meet with (i.e. don’t meet with America’s most prominent Nazi) poisoned a lot of people in ways they simply can’t be persuaded back.
In a Republic to win you need to court the voters and win them over. This does not show me Trump or his confidants are capable of that.
When Casey has her inergarments mishandled by the FBI
Maybe then I’ll feel sorry for the name calling
I do know she had breast cancer and for THAT I have I would not disparage her regardless.
This statement encapsulates your entire problem with narrow-mindedness and adversarial posture that epitomizes the phrase “cut off your nose to spite your own face”.
Dang phone, undergarments…!
Trump attacks conservatives all the time, he should run for the Democrat nomination. That would be seriously hilarious too.
It would make sense. He is/always was a Democrat until the Clintons convinced him to run as a Republican stalking horse, which makes him a DINO.
Ooops, DIABLO.
It certainly would be a shame to spoil your rant with facts. Most of his life Trump was a Republican. He got disgusted (what a surprise) and spent a few years as a Democrat (got even more disgusted) returned to Republican party & decided he needed to fix the problems himself.
Just in case you thought the Trump camp had changed in order to actually win next time if it gets the nomination…..Yes this is what kind of thing the Trump camp thinks improves their popularity.
Show me the Biden voter who was pinning and desperate to see an innocent woman attacked for being married to a political opponent and will say “ya know what now that the Trump campaign likes attacking spouses of politicians and does so completely unprovoked and has no substance to back up this horrible behavior I will be voting Trump”.
It is yet another example showing Trump can’t win. Most Americans don’t want him because they don’t like him, winning them over is next to impossible and what they think will do it is….attack Casey DeSantis unprovoked.
How’d you like your precious Mitch simping for the FBI, Danny? You know, that fascist organization you’re so adamantly against.
To be fair Trump endorsed Mitch McConnell to remain Minority Leader post ’22 midterm debacle. He did so with full knowledge of how the DC establishment covers each other’s flank from outsider attacks.
Explain to me how an unprovoked attack on somebody’s wife will get people who voted Biden to instead vote Trump?
To win we need to win over people who voted against Trump.
Trump’s campaign seems to think the way to do that is attack the wife of somebody (an ALWAYS unpopular move with everyone).
Explain it.
Go ahead explain
You Trumpbots seem to be fantastic at insults but without exception you can’t answer single thing about substance.
Now for what you are talking about
1. Be more specific?
2. Mitch McConnell literally has two Democrats in his caucus because Trump decided he had to return to work alongside Democrats to make himself the issue of the 2022 midterm elections.
Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin permitting court packing…hello Biden victories on every issue without a congressional vote.
Sorry but elections have consequences which is why people like you should stop working to lose them by demanding we nominate people you know will not win.
Who knew? Will those who really want Democrats to win refrain from sliming Casey DeSantis until her husband looks likely to win the nomination? Politico’s doing it now.
I recall Casey Black from her television news career, part of which she spent in Jacksonville at the highest-rated station. She could handle straight news and interviews; later she hosted the daytime light news/talk show format which followed the hard -news noon ‘cast. I found her to be a consummate professional.
I hope that the Governor is listening to his wife and accepting her coaching — because with her media experience, she knows the importance of public image, speaking to the electorate, and the inside-baseball of the news business. She is more experienced and more valuable than any outsider political or media “consultant” that makes a career out of advising one failed candidate after another.
Ahh! The way to get a Black woman in the White House – sure beats Harris. (pun intended)
Oh, please! Reread, or at least read., Shakespeare before making such a silly comparison. As an English teacher (AB English literature, M.Ed. Secondary English Education, Ph.D. (ABD) English Literature), I can “literally” quote why this comparison is nonsense.
The media is able to take somebody who speaks 99% well of someone and 1% bad and turn them into an evil troll of hatred. They loathe Roger Stone, and any opportunity they can find to hurt him, Trump. or DeSantis, or all of them together, they’ll take with great vigor.
(It doesn’t help that Stone is also a bit liberal with his criticisms of Republicans also.)
Stone is a lunatic. Period.
Well…. objectively yes. Can’t argue with that. I was trying to be generous.
This is DrSantis Derangement Syndrome at work
She’s Scottish?!
We can’t have that. Off with her head.