Florida Governor Ron DeSantis finds himself in hot water with those within his party and beyond. On Friday, June 30, the “DeSantis War Room” account posted a video to Twitter with a caption that reads, “To wrap up ‘Pride Month,’ let’s hear from the politician who did more than any other Republican to celebrate it.” Taken from the “Proud Elephant” Twitter account, the video contrasts Trump’s track record of LGBTQIA+ policies with his own. More specifically, the video boasts the Florida governor’s support for controversial policies pertaining to LGBTQIA+ citizens, including the banning of gender-affirming medical care for trans youth.
To wrap up “Pride Month,” let’s hear from the politician who did more than any other Republican to celebrate it…
— DeSantis War Room ? (@DeSantisWarRoom) June 30, 2023
With nearly 25 million views on Twitter, the video has drawn reactions from fellow presidential candidate Chris Christie, former presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg and several LGBTQIA+ groups within the Republican Party.
“This type of video does nothing to address those issues. And it is a teenage … food fight between Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump. And I don’t think that’s what leaders should be doing,” Christie told CNN.
“And just get to the bigger issue that is on my mind whenever I see this stuff in the policy space, which is, again: Who are you trying to help? Who are you trying to make better off? And what public policy problems do you get up in the morning thinking about how to solve?” Buttigieg asked.
Widespread criticism from those in the political space is just the latest challenge DeSantis faces as he pursues a nomination from the Republican Party in the upcoming presidential election. The Florida Governor sits approximately 30 points behind front-runner Donald Trump in the latest poll from FiveThirtyEight.
