On Friday, the Ron DeSantis campaign shared a thought-provoking video that critiqued former President Donald J. Trump's position on "LGBTQ rights." Posted on Twitter by the "DeSantis War Room" account and produced by Proud Elephant, the video commences with a clip of Trump vowing to "utilize every means at my disposal to safeguard our LGBTQ citizens."
In July 2016, following the tragedy of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, which left 49 people dead, these remarks were made at the Republican National Convention.
The remainder of the video shows Trump endorsing the freedom of "transgender" people to utilize the restrooms of their choice. It contrasts this position with DeSantis's more aggressive approach by displaying a number of hostile images of DeSantis (including one with lasers coming from his eyes), along with right-wing internet memes, news headlines, and pop culture allusions.
The video elicited a variety of emotional responses on Twitter.
David Leatherwood said, "I spent the last seven years of my life working with Trump to make the GOP a more accepting place for gays WHILE ALSO BEING AGAINST GROOMER, AGAINST AWAKE, AND PRO RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. "I even collaborated with DeSantis on this plan of action. This advertisement is a slap in the face and makes anyone who identifies as LGBT and supports DeSantis look like a complete moron.
"Desperation is not attractive. Justin Pulitzer declared, "DeSantis is out."
"Even though I support DeSantis, this is inappropriate. Ron, you're capable of better than this, said Fred Hundt.
As a two-time Trump supporter, Proud Elephant responded, "It's obvious to me that Ron DeSantis is more conservative and FAR MORE electable than Donald Trump." "I'm voting for him!"
Not a DeSantis ad, please. Proud Elephant put it together, and D War Room—a DeSantis-affiliated group—pushed it out. However, it is not an advertisement, Rod Thompson noted. "Secondly, you must break the question apart. For the GOP, LG is one thing and a big tent. However, T has turned into an evil person who preys on children and parents, and he must be stopped. The gay Republicans I know are all against the trans agenda, as it sounds like you are. Therefore, let's not lose sight of the end goal.
DeSantis has frequently presented himself throughout his career as the victim of unfair liberal criticism in order to energize his political base. He may have made the video in part to incite left-wing outrage at a time when he is trailing Trump in the polls.
In this Republican primary campaign, Mr. DeSantis has been highlighting and expanding his conservative credentials to position himself to the right of his primary opponent, despite earlier in his career appearing to be relatively uninterested in L.G.B.T.Q. issues.
Not only did Democrats criticize the video, but members of his own party, including the Log Cabin Republicans, called it "divisive and desperate" and said it had crossed the line into homophobia.
DeSantis has enacted a number of child protection laws in Florida, including those that prohibit teachers from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity with young students, fine businesses for letting minors attend "adult live performances" like drag shows, and make it illegal to use public restrooms that don't match a person's sex at birth.
The Supreme Court's decision in favor of a Christian web designer's right to refuse to work on wedding websites for same-sex couples coincided with the day the DeSantis video went viral.
In July 2016, following the tragedy of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, which left 49 people dead, these remarks were made at the Republican National Convention.
The remainder of the video shows Trump endorsing the freedom of "transgender" people to utilize the restrooms of their choice. It contrasts this position with DeSantis's more aggressive approach by displaying a number of hostile images of DeSantis (including one with lasers coming from his eyes), along with right-wing internet memes, news headlines, and pop culture allusions.
The video elicited a variety of emotional responses on Twitter.
David Leatherwood said, "I spent the last seven years of my life working with Trump to make the GOP a more accepting place for gays WHILE ALSO BEING AGAINST GROOMER, AGAINST AWAKE, AND PRO RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. "I even collaborated with DeSantis on this plan of action. This advertisement is a slap in the face and makes anyone who identifies as LGBT and supports DeSantis look like a complete moron.
"Desperation is not attractive. Justin Pulitzer declared, "DeSantis is out."
"Even though I support DeSantis, this is inappropriate. Ron, you're capable of better than this, said Fred Hundt.
As a two-time Trump supporter, Proud Elephant responded, "It's obvious to me that Ron DeSantis is more conservative and FAR MORE electable than Donald Trump." "I'm voting for him!"
Not a DeSantis ad, please. Proud Elephant put it together, and D War Room—a DeSantis-affiliated group—pushed it out. However, it is not an advertisement, Rod Thompson noted. "Secondly, you must break the question apart. For the GOP, LG is one thing and a big tent. However, T has turned into an evil person who preys on children and parents, and he must be stopped. The gay Republicans I know are all against the trans agenda, as it sounds like you are. Therefore, let's not lose sight of the end goal.
DeSantis has frequently presented himself throughout his career as the victim of unfair liberal criticism in order to energize his political base. He may have made the video in part to incite left-wing outrage at a time when he is trailing Trump in the polls.
In this Republican primary campaign, Mr. DeSantis has been highlighting and expanding his conservative credentials to position himself to the right of his primary opponent, despite earlier in his career appearing to be relatively uninterested in L.G.B.T.Q. issues.
Not only did Democrats criticize the video, but members of his own party, including the Log Cabin Republicans, called it "divisive and desperate" and said it had crossed the line into homophobia.
DeSantis has enacted a number of child protection laws in Florida, including those that prohibit teachers from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity with young students, fine businesses for letting minors attend "adult live performances" like drag shows, and make it illegal to use public restrooms that don't match a person's sex at birth.
The Supreme Court's decision in favor of a Christian web designer's right to refuse to work on wedding websites for same-sex couples coincided with the day the DeSantis video went viral.
