Republican 2024 presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is giving off “Jeb Bush vibes” on the campaign trail, former GOP communications director Tara Setmayer said Saturday.
“Ron DeSantis’s idea was what drew people to him until he went on the campaign trail and people realized he’s actually a whiner. He got mad at a high school student for asking him a basic question. You cannot answer a question about January 6, [2021], For the love of God. So even though he’s raised all this money, he’s giving me Jeb Bush vibes again,” Setmayer told MSNBC host Jonathan Capehart on Saturday’s program.
In May, DeSantis announced his run for president and is among the widening field of candidates running for the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nomination. While former President Donald Trump regularly maintains a commanding lead in the polls, DeSantis has proven to be his most important opponent, ranking second in the polls, still ahead of others in the field like former Vice President Mike Pence and former Carolina Governor of the South Nikki Haley. .
“Jeb raised $100 million and it didn’t go anywhere. The donor class may be under illusions that they thought Ron DeSantis was the guy maybe on paper, I guess, but in reality, he certainly isn’t,” Setmayer added Saturday.
DeSantis’ campaign is failing because of who his candidate is: a whiner and a self-victimizing wannabe at every opportunity. His extremely unpleasant character is the biggest problem he faces in elementary school. @TaraSetmayer says more about @MSNBC. pic.twitter.com/S9Nz1U911o
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) July 9, 2023
Previously the communications director for former Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, Setmayer now works with the conservative anti-Trump PAC, The Lincoln Project. He formally left the Republican Party in 2020 and declared himself an independent.
“They’re both Floridians, DeSantis and Jeb Bush actually get money from a lot of the same Republican establishment donors,” said political analyst and Dillard University professor Robert Collins. news week on Sunday. “The problem with DeSantis is the same as with Jeb Bush. They have the money to get the message across from him, but the primary voters just aren’t interested in the message because they’ve already engaged with Donald Trump.”
While on the campaign trail during the 2016 Republican primary, Bush, the brother and son of former Presidents George W. Bush and George HW Bush respectively, was unable to turn a sizable fundraising lead into success at the polls.
Meanwhile, in recent polls, Trump has led the crowded field of Republican candidates by double digits.
“DeSantis’ poll numbers won’t change between now and the early primaries,” Collins said, adding that DeSantis’ best hope is to go to early primary states like Iowa and New Hampshire to “push the meat, engage in retail politics, talking to people one on one, and I hope he does well in both primaries.”
The political analyst continued: “In-person politics is different than television politics. Sometimes, candidates who are not doing well on mass communication channels do better with one-on-one discussions. That could allow you to take some momentum.”
Meanwhile, on Sunday, DeSantis spoke more about the importance of Iowa during an interview with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo.
“We understand this is a state-by-state process. We’ve had incredible support in the early states, building an organization, signing up the key people you need to be able to compete in a place like Iowa,” the Florida governor said. he said, adding that he believes that moms and dads will be a “secret weapon” for the primary and general elections.
news week has reached out to the DeSantis campaign via email for comment.