Political strategists hammer 'terrible advice' in leaked DeSantis debate strategy

17 August 2023

Continuing to trail Trump by double digits in countless polls, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been making a desperate attempt to turn his presidential campaign around. Hundreds of pages of DeSantis' debate strategy have been leaked online, and according to some political strategists, the strategy shows just how troubled DeSantis' campaign is.

The debate strategy, the New York Times and MSNBC report, includes tips like: attack President Joe Biden and the media three or five times, defend former President Donald Trump in response to former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's attacks, and slam GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

Tim Miller, a Never Trump conservative and former GOP strategist, said of DeSantis and the debate strategy, "This is not normal. The whole thing just wreaks of desperation."

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In an August 17 tweet, Miller posted, "One of the most WTF leaks in memory. Makes your candidate seem like a pathetic baby and neutralizes potential attacks. Baffling."

Miller isn't the only one who has been slamming the strategy on Twitter, which CEO Elon Musk has rebranded as "X."

The Lincoln Project's Rick Wilson, a Never Trumper and ex-GOP strategist who has been very skeptical about DeSantis' chances of defeating Trump in the GOP primary, sarcastically tweeted, "The DeSantis debate memo is some cutting-edge stuff for a state house race debate at the local Rotary Club."

Former Barack Obama adviser David Axelrod was downright scathing in his response, posting, "This is a first for me: a SuperPac, leaking a voluminous, pre-debate strategy memo to the candidate on the other side of the wall. Now, if and when @RonDeSantis does any of these things in next week's debate, he'll look utterly inauthentic. It's insane!"

In a separate tweet, Axelrod wrote, "But this is good news for Ramaswamy, who has been creeping up on DeSantis in polls. When the others are gunning for you, you've made progress. The worst thing is to be ignored!"

Democratic strategist Matt McDermott was as biting as Axelrod and argued, "Notwithstanding the merits of the advice — which itself is terrible! — this is exactly why having a PAC lead your campaign is such a mistake. Why in the world you want a memo like this in the public eye? It makes DeSantis look like a puppet to his PAC."

McDermott went on describe Christie as the only GOP presidential candidate who at least acts like he is putting up a real fight against Trump in the primary.

The Democrat tweeted, "It's remarkable that we are now less than six months from voting in the Republican primary, and Chris Christie seems to be the only candidate interested in beating the candidate that's winning by 50+ points…. The irony being that Chris Christie is among the most reviled people in politics today — despised equally among Democrats, Independents, and Republicans — that he has absolutely zero chance of ever being a presidential nominee!"

Conservate pundit Rich Logis, a self-described "remorseful Trump/DeSantis/MAGA voter," tweeted, "This is what $200-plus million in donations bought? Sounds like lots of refunds will be processed."

Trump adviser Jason Miller, tweeting the New York Times' reporting, noted that "hundreds of pages of blunt advice, memos and internal polling were posted online by the main super PAC backing the Florida governor."

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