Casey DeSantis, wife of Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, is set to relaunch a group focused on portraying her husband as a friend to “mamas” everywhere, as his presidential campaign struggles with severe image problems.
She first launched “Mamas for DeSantis” — which appears to be a Moms for Liberty knockoff — to aid her husband’s gubernatorial re–election bid in 2022. At the time, Casey DeSantis claimed her goal was to sign up “a million mamas across the state of Florida.” She’s slated to relaunch the group at an Iowa campaign stop on Thursday — her first solo appearance on the campaign trail.
Promotional materials for the launch event, which list GOP Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds as its special guest, claim Ron DeSantis “is the fighter we need to protect the innocence of our children while defending and protecting the rights of parents.”
In reality, the governor has sought to protect the ignorance of Florida’s children by whitewashing and restricting classroom discussions on issues like social inequality and sex education.
As for “protecting the rights of parents,” that apparently excludes immigrant parents, parents fighting to prevent gun violence in schools, parents who want their children to have a truthful understanding of U.S. history, parents of transgender kids seeking gender-affirming care, parents who want their kids to become more empathetic and understanding of their own emotions — and the list goes on.
But it’s clear why Casey DeSantis is attempting to ride in on a white horse to do some image rehab on her husband. You may remember leaked audio of DeSantis campaign staffers meeting earlier this year with supporters of the governor who suggested his support for a draconian anti-abortion bill would harm his reputation.
One quote, in particular, sticks out:
“My Republican friends who have daughters and wives are upset,” one DeSantis supporter said. He added: “We need talking points.”
Sounds like the governor’s campaign is counting on Casey DeSantis to do some cleanup with women voters.
It’s been a rocky road for Ron DeSantis on the public relations front in recent months. In late June, he angered a group of Republican women in New Hampshire after he chose to schedule an event at the same time the group had scheduled Trump to speak. And there have been more signs that even GOP extremists think he’s too extreme to lead the party. Just last week, he was widely criticized by Republicans for sharing a homophobic video slamming Trump for his alleged support for LGBTQ people. None of these things — or DeSantis’ other controversies — have apparently led to substantial cuts in Trump’s support among primary voters. They’ve simply made DeSantis seem like a creep and a political novice.
“Mamas for DeSantis” is a life preserver being thrown to a candidate in distress, and a desperate effort to save a floundering campaign before it drowns in its namesake’s mediocrity.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.