Opinion | Technical issues weren’t Ron DeSantis’s biggest problem

Almost all commentators focused on the technical meltdown that began the Twitter event. For 20 minutes or so, static, feedback and a lost connection provided the perfect metaphor for a campaign that never seems to get off the ground.

DeSantis was already suffering under the dig that he seems to lack social skills (e.g., eating pudding with his fingers; laughing bizarrely) and the ability to connect with ordinary people. Debuting with an eccentric billionaire who has made hash out of his platform — and has put out the welcome mat for neo-Nazis, white supremacists and Putin apologists — predictably turned into a debacle. It only served to reinforce the governor’s image as a remote and out-of-touch candidate (to the delight of all the other GOP candidates, who ragged on him mercilessly).

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Nevertheless, the glitches had a silver lining for DeSantis: Few people actually paid attention to what he had to say, either on Twitter or during a later Fox News interview. His problems went well beyond the lack of anything inspirational and the dearth of attention to major issues such as inflation.

DeSantis showed just how lost he is in the weeds of right–wing media memes. Anyone listening (and that probably included very few of the older voters who are the mainstay of the GOP base) would have been hard–pressed to understand much of what he was even talking about. He went on and on about “DEI” (diversity, equity and inclusion) without defining it or explaining why the average American should care. He also fixated on ESG (environmental, social and governance investing), another acronym that would mystify most voters.

When he wasn’t focusing on his crusade against “woke” (a term most Americans think is positive), he was playing the victim. Listening to two wealthy White guys bellyache about the Atlantic magazine and Vanity Fair (which the vast majority of voters don’t read) was eye-rolling. Why should voters care? Spending time on bitcoin (again, outside the experience of most voters) seemed to be yet another instance of DeSantis running down a right–wing rabbit hole.

And sometimes, his attacks seemed simply bizarre. He claimed he does not ban books because people can still buy them. He attacked the NAACP and Disney, and railed at something called “accreditation cartels.”

What didn’t he attack? Former president Donald Trump.

DeSantis’s Fox News appearance didn’t help matters. It’s never good when the host starts by taunting you. “I can’t promise you that I won’t crash, but Fox News will not crash during this interview,” Trey Gowdy told DeSantis. Again on Fox News, the governor dumped on ESG, no doubt mystifying a good deal of the audience. He went after the FBI, threatening to bring the bureau to heel. In another unintelligible sound bite, he argued that the “woke mind virus is a form of cultural Marxism.” Remarkably, he even turned a question about Ukraine into an attack against gender politics:

I have no idea what that means — nor, I suspect, did many viewers. (No one is talking about sending U.S. troops to Ukraine, by the way.)

And, in a jaw-dropping projection, DeSantis declared, “I think the [Justice Department] and FBI have lost their way. I think that they’ve been weaponized against Americans who think like me and you. And I think that they become very partisan.” That would have been true under the last administration.

You’ll notice what was missing in all this: A coherent critique of the Biden administration, a coherent critique of Trump, an economic plan, a live audience, any sign he cares about working-class people. Noteworthy: He stayed away from abortion, an issue that has proved to be a loser for Republicans nationwide.

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All of this suggests Republicans might have a bigger problem than DeSantis’s personality. A party that wants to be the defender of working–class Americans should be talking about the issues they care most about: inflation, the opioid crisis, gun violence and health care. Rather than whining about media outlets or bitcoin or gender identity, the GOP field might consider channeling voters’ anger over something that actually affects them. A party obsessed with niche culture issues manages to sound both out of touch and unserious, and it’s a dead loser when the nominee has to explain an anti-First Amendment fixation (e.g., book banning).

DeSantis can fix technical glitches. It’s not clear he can endear himself to voters — or even explain what he is talking about. You do wonder whether he is running for president or for Tucker Carlson’s time slot.