NYT columnist blames DeSantis' failure to 'cultivate' relationships with reporters for critical coverage
Gov. Ron DeSantis has faced intense media backlash prior to his presidential campaign
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie suggested mainstream media’s alleged obsession with attacking Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., comes from his team’s failure to "cultivate" a relationship with the press.
Bouie shared a tweet regarding a Washington Post article that targeted DeSantis’ "limited" experience with voters. The tweet highlighted a specific anecdote from the piece about the DeSantis signing an autograph for a World War II veteran in a large crowd.
The article’s framing of this as "brusque approach" led Bouie to comment how the press continues to try and embarrass DeSantis, likely due to his team’s "hostile" relationship with media.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Florida Governor Ron DeSantis gives a political speech at the Cradle of Aviation Museum, April 1, 2023 in Garden City, New York. ((Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images))
"[O]ne of desantis’ actual problems right now is that reporters are practically hunting for examples of him being weird and awkward with voters, amplifying them and solidifying the narrative that he is weird and awkward," Bouie tweeted.
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He added, "if team desantis had done a decent job of cultivating relationships with the press, they probably could head this off. but team desantis has been notably hostile to the mainstream press!"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Twitter user replied, "It's the first time in my life I can remember political reporters doing this to a Republican."
"[H]e’s very clearly being Gored right now!" Bouie wrote, likely referencing former Vice President Al Gore.
Several members of the mainstream media have insisted that DeSantis lacks the "likeability" or "charisma" to become president, often citing a lack of "interpersonal skills" or personality quirks.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been deemed even "more dangerous" than Trump as a presidential candidate. (AP/Maya Alleruzzo)
"DeSantis’s deficiencies, however, can’t be easily dismissed. They get at the heart of a much larger question, something more consequential than even donor vanity, that will shape his prospects in 2024: how much does retail politics still matter in presidential campaigns?" Politico columnist Jonathan Martin wrote earlier this year.
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Following the piece, other media outlets and Democratic allies grew increasingly critical of DeSantis using various alleged idiosyncrasies ranging from his boots to his table manners.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Democratic opposition researcher Pat Dennis tweeted a photo of DeSantis wearing cowboy boots at an event in February claiming, "Ron DeSantis consistently wears high-heeled boots in order to appear taller. Rubio also did this, famously, and it became a major line of attack against him in the 2016 primary. Silly? Sorry buddy, this is the game as it is played."
A Daily Beast article in March also reported that anonymous former staffers and GOP operatives recounted to the outlet an instance where DeSantis allegedly ate pudding with his fingers.
"Enshrined in DeSantis lore is an episode from four years ago: During a private plane trip from Tallahassee to Washington, D.C., in March of 2019, DeSantis enjoyed a chocolate pudding dessert—by eating it with three of his fingers, according to two sources familiar with the incident," the article stated.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A ridiculed article by the Daily Beast highlighted an alleged incident where DeSantis ate chocolate pudding with his fingers. (Getty Images)
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After years of declaring former President Trump a unique threat to the country, many mainstream media pundits and reporters have now labeled DeSantis as an even greater danger.