Politico is the latest news outlet to run what critics describe as a "hit piece" about Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
In Friday's installment of the "Politico Playbook," the headline read "Scarred DeSantis staffers form a support group."
"We talked to a dozen or so onetime aides and consultants to the Florida governor, and they all said the same thing: DeSantis treats staff like expendable widgets," the report began. "He largely relies on a brain trust of two: himself and his wife, CASEY DESANTIS, a former local TV journalist. Beyond that there are few, if any, 'DeSantis people' as far as political pros are concerned."
According to Politico, a "support group" of former staffers meets regularly to "trade war stories" about their time working with DeSantis and noted how he had some of the "highest turnover" among staff when he served in Congress.
"Aides would lure DeSantis to staff meetings with cupcakes, saying that it was a colleague’s birthday to get him to attend," Politico alleged. "In the gubernatorial primary, DeSantis visited his campaign headquarters just a couple of times. On election night, he entered the war room after his win and remarked, 'Wow, I didn’t know this many people worked for me,' according to four former staffers."
One unnamed former aide told Politico, "Loyalty and trust, that is not a currency he deals in... It’s him and Casey. But everyone else is like a disposable piece of garbage."
Critics took to Twitter and knocked Politico's reporting.
"I read this expecting some Klobuchar-style anecdotes like 'he threw a binder' or 'he berated a staffer for not having a fork to eat his salad.' Instead, it's just he fired someone and one time got mad at his staff. If this is an attempt at a hit-job, it's a weak one," GOP strategist Andrew Clark reacted.
NEW YORK TIMES CALLS FLORIDA GOV. DESANTIS 'POLARIZING LEADER' WITH 'MIXED' COVID RECORD IN PROFILE
"'Disgruntled FORMER staffers' is a funny way of saying people mad they aren't still on Team DeSantis," Ruthless podcast co-host Comfortably Smug wrote. "Media has really gotten to the 'former employees' stage of trying to smear him, Ronny D is that unstoppable and effective."
"The absolute unparalleled horror that Ron DeSantis trusts the opinions of his wife more than a bunch of political consultants," Daily Caller's Greg Price reacted.
"DeSantis thinks for himself and isn't controlled. Wow, BOMBSHELL oppo dump, guys," Daily Wire staff writer Amanda Prestigiacomo tweeted.
"This makes me like @RonDeSantisFL even more," radio host Dana Loesch said.
DeSantis has been the focus of negative press as Republicans eye the Florida governor as a potential 2024 presidential candidate.
Last month, "60 Minutes" was panned over a report that accused him of a "pay for play" scheme with a local grocery store chain that virtually crumbled amid scrutiny and was panned by critics for editing an exchange he had with a CBS correspondent that explained his arrangement with the company over the coronavirus vaccine rollout.
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The New York Times also ran a profile describing him as a "polarizing leader" with a "mixed" record on his state's COVID response.
Other critics like MSNBC's Joy Reid and "The View" co-host Sunny Hostin repeatedly bash him on-air, calling him names like "Death-Santis."
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