![]() ![]() Clasp them loosely below his belly button? Put them on either side of his waist like Superman? He looked unsettled as he waited for her to finish. She was confident and effortless at the mic Ron didn’t seem to know what to do with his eyes, or his mouth, or, especially, his hands. As she introduced her husband on Saturday, he stood a few feet behind her, staring intensely into the back of her head. More than a few people have noted that his wife, Casey, is the more natural politician, and could herself be a stronger future candidate. “And I’m going to tell ya, I think they’re having some fun!” Reynolds said unconvincingly.ĭeSantis did not appear to be fully enjoying himself in Newton. “It’s also really important for the candidates-I’ve said it really helps them kind of do the retail politics.” She spoke of DeSantis and his wife taking in all of the state’s offerings over the past year- Albert the Bull, Casey’s breakfast pizza. (DeSantis’s team temporarily rebranded the milestone as a “Full DeSantis,” with placards peppering the venue.) “Listen, Iowans want the opportunity to look you in the eye they want the opportunity to size that candidate up just a little bit,” Reynolds told the room. She gestured to the importance of DeSantis achieving the “full Grassley”-a nod to Iowa’s senior senator, Chuck Grassley, who visits all of the state’s 99 counties every year to meet voters. One of Saturday’s warm-up speakers, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, attempted to humanize DeSantis for her constituents. DeSantis the next President of the United States.” The group’s spokesperson sent a statement: “Never Back Down has the most organized, advanced caucus operation of anyone in the 2024 primary field, and we look forward to continuing that great work to help elect Gov. (She had taken over for the previous CEO, who had resigned around Thanksgiving, along with the group’s chair.) I asked Never Back Down what potential voters should make of all these changes. His super PAC, Never Back Down, just fired its CEO, Kristin Davison, after nine days on the job. Ambassador Nikki Haley in the polls there, and elsewhere, for distant second place to former President Donald Trump. But now he’s almost tied with former U.S. He has more or less staked his candidacy on winning Iowa. Is this angle working? Despite his GOP fame and high-profile endorsements, his polling average is trending in the wrong direction. Other merchandise leaned harder into DeSantis’s culture-warrior reputation: SOCIALISM SUCKS, ANNOY A LIBERAL WORK HARD BE HAPPY, CRITICAL RACE THEORY with a no-smoking slash through it, and DESANTISLAND with the Disney D. Outside the venue, you could buy buttons that said RON ’24 HE’S KIND OF A BIG DEAL! with an illustration of DeSantis mashed up with Anchorman’s Ron Burgundy. The event may have been intended as a moment of triumph, but the crowd on this cold, dreary afternoon was, at approximately 400 attendees, not at capacity. Saturday’s speech marked the culmination of DeSantis’s 99-county tour of Iowa. Mark Leibovich: Just wait until you get to know Ron DeSantis “What you don’t want to do is repel people for no reason,” DeSantis told the room a little later. All year long on the campaign trail, self-awareness has seemed to elude him. DeSantis plays the part of a fearless maverick pursuing justice-even if that means picking a fight with a well-respected nonprofit. This narrative followed a familiar arc: The Florida governor had confronted something he didn’t like, and, after a brief crusade, emerged victorious. ![]() “So we were able to tell the Special Olympics, you let all the athletes compete!” People hooted. “Well, we don’t have discrimination in Florida on that,” he said, meaning vaccination status. As it happened, the games were being held in Florida, where DeSantis serves as governor. DeSantis said he had met a family at the Iowa State Fair, and that one of their children had wanted to participate in the Special Olympics, but wasn’t vaccinated. He was speaking atop a small platform in a partitioned-off section of a former roller rink in Newton, Iowa, dubbed “the Thunderdome.” The anecdote, like so many, had something to do with the tyranny of vaccine mandates. On Saturday afternoon, with just over six weeks to go until the Iowa caucuses, Ron DeSantis told a story about how he once bravely stood up to the Special Olympics. Produced by ElevenLabs and NOA, News Over Audio, using AI narration.
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