DeSantis fails to stand out at GOP debate, analysts and critics say

Gov. Ron DeSantis failed to ignite or excite viewers of the first Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee on Wednesday, which political analysts said was necessary to reverse the downward spiral of his campaign.

DeSantis was competent and articulate and elicited cheers from the 4,000 debate attendees. But he also was stiff and awkward as he fell back on oft-repeated campaign talking points and evaded answers to several questions put to him by the Fox News moderators, analysts agreed.

He was loud, forced uncomfortable smiles and hesitated at crucial moments, including when asked for a show of hands of who would support former President Donald Trump for president, even if he were convicted of a crime.

The governor needed to shine to change his momentum, analysts said.

“He didn’t hurt himself, but he didn’t help himself,” said David Jolly, a former Republican congressman from Tampa who served with DeSantis in Washington, D.C. “In a high-stakes moment like that, it means DeSantis survived. In some ways, that is OK for the governor.”

DeSantis also struggled to connect with the audience, Jolly said, often yelling instead of talking.

“There is still in politics the ‘who do you want a beer with test,’ and that wasn’t Ron DeSantis,” Jolly said. “He is not a good retail politician. He talks at you — not with you.”

Nick Iarossi, a Tallahassee lobbyist and adviser to DeSantis, said the governor did a great job.

“There were high expectations, and he matched them,” Iarossi said.

DeSantis got his message across to voters, instead of sparring with the other candidates, Iarossi said. “He was clear and concise in his messaging and looked presidential.”

Ramaswamy steals show

The consensus among many observers, however, was that the night belonged to entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who gained major attention when he locked horns with former Vice President Michael Pence, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

Haley, too, was commended for concisely saying where she stood on issues such as abortion and government spending.

Yet, no one really stood out, said state Sen. Joe Gruters.

“At the end of the day I don’t think anybody distinguished themselves as a formidable opponent to the former president Trump,” said Gruters, R-Sarasota, the immediate past chair of the Republican Party of Florida and a Trump supporter. “All these candidates are posturing for some other seat.”

The race is already over, Gruters said, and the candidates should drop out and get behind Trump, who didn’t participate in the debate and has several federal and Georgia charges looming related to his alleged involvement in the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and attempts to prevent the certification of Joe Biden winner of the 2020 presidential election.

“We got a good indication where people are at but it was an audition for nothing,” Gruters said. “Trump will lead the party to victory in 2024.”

Trump remains the frontrunner with a substantial lead over the rest of the pack, even widening the gap between himself and DeSantis.

DeSantis has plummeted from second to third place in some polls, despite several attempts to reboot his campaign, while Ramaswamy has ticked up in the polls.

“We saw the death of Ron DeSantis’ campaign tonight as Vivek Ramaswamy leapfrogged him into second place,” Trump adviser Jason Miller told NBC’s Meet the Press.

As the other candidates threw slings and arrows at one another, DeSantis faded into the background, neither attacking nor fending off attacks from the other seven candidates on stage.

“I don’t think anyone even mentioned his name during the entire debate because they realize his campaign is already in free fall,” Gruters said. “There was no reason to hit him because they don’t look at him as a viable candidate anymore.”

The hands-off approach the other candidates took to DeSantis may suggest that Ramaswamay is viewed as the greater emerging threat, said Aubrey Jewett, a political scientist at the University of Central Florida.

“I don’t think it changes anything,” Jewett said of DeSantis’ debate performance. ” I don’t think he did badly — just from a neutral, objective criteria. But if you rate it based on the expectation game, he didn’t do as well as he needed to.”

DeSantis failed to seize the moment because he didn’t adapt to what was happening in real time by changing his tone or volume, said Joshua Scacco, a University of South Florida professor who studies political messaging.

“The takeaway is he remained in the middle of the pack without a breakout moment when a standout performance is needed,” he said.

Not answering questions

While DeSantis wasn’t noting his accomplishments as governor, he was sidestepping questions on climate change, a federal abortion ban and pardoning Trump.

He would not say if he would support a national ban on abortion. He then recounted a story about a woman in Florida he said he knew named Penny, who allegedly survived several abortion attempts and was tossed into a pan only to be rescued by her grandmother and taken to a hospital.

The media outlet Jezebel reported that Penny could be a possible reference to Miriam “Penny” Hopper, who was born in Michigan but participated in anti-abortion protests in Florida. She talks about having survived a similar experience in a video posted on YouTube.

The story has yet to be independently corroborated by other news media.

DeSantis also didn’t use the word “woke,” a favorite during his re-election campaign but he noted that he had eliminated critical race theory from public schools and universities.

He also said he would use the power of the federal government to remove “Soros-backed” state district attorneys nationwide who aren’t enforcing the law as he sees it.

He also said he would send U.S. troops into Mexico “on day one” to shoot and kill drug smugglers, even though the U.S. Customs and Border Protection reports that almost all of the fentanyl is brought across the border at legal crossings, largely by U.S. citizens serving as drug mules.

He also was dismissive when asked if Pence was correct in pushing forward to certify the 2020 election after the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.

“Mike did his duty,” DeSantis said. “I don’t have a beef with him.”

“I’m relieved,” Pence said.

But DeSantis grew irritated and said it was time to move forward “and not rehash this thing.”

At the moment, it doesn’t appear any of the candidates will be able to usurp Trump, who continues to hold a dominant lead despite his legal woes, Jewett said.

“Bottom line, it seems like a significant portion of Republican voters have their mind set on Trump,” Jewett said. “It doesn’t matter what any of these other people say.”

______