Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is poised to be behind the middle podium during this week’s opening 2024 Republican primary debate, and his campaign depends on his performance.
But while a debate strategy memo by his super PAC Never Back Down was aimed at helping the candidate, it seems to have only complicated matters for him before a pivotal moment in his bid.
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Although the memo, which Never Back Down founder Ken Cuccinelli remains adamant was not a mistake, was sound, DeSantis may now be criticized for heeding it, according to University of Michigan debate director Aaron Kall.
“If he too closely adheres to the advice that was in the memo, then people will accuse him of being overprogrammed and not having his own original thoughts,” Kall told Washington Examiner. “If he deviates radically from what was made public, then it looks like he is caving to public pressure once the media got involved.”
“It also sheds a light on the DeSantis campaign,” the co-author of Debating The Donald said. “The super PAC is almost serving as a proxy for the campaign, and that is a little bit unusual. … The fact that the super PAC has so much money and influence increases the propensity of errors like this.”
It is not unusual for super PACs to indirectly communicate to campaigns since they cannot coordinate. Before it was removed from the website of Never Back Down strategist Jeff Roe’s Republican political consulting firm, Axiom, it encouraged DeSantis to criticize President Joe Biden and the media three to five times, in addition to biotechnology entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, while underscoring his positive vision for the country two to three times before defending former President Donald Trump if he is attacked by former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Roe worked on Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)’s 2016 presidential bid. DeSantis’s official coach is Brett O’Donnell.
“Attacking Trump is not going to get a lot of mileage there, especially if he’s not in attendance,” Kall said. “Ramaswamy is the breakout star so far of the primary, and he’s inching closer to the DeSantis in the polls … but reading some stuff about his strategy, it didn’t seem like he is likely to go on the attack unless directly attacked.”
“Going negative and real aggressive against a 38-year-old entrepreneur with no political experience could reek a little bit of desperation, depending on how it plays out,” he added.
Regardless of the memo, Ed Lee, director of Emory University’s Alben W. Barkley Forum for Debate, Deliberation and Dialogue, recommended DeSantis remind the public that he is “one of the few” candidates who has had “some decisive victories” and of his “old school economic populism” positions.
“There’s a significant number of people who disagree with the policies that he has proposed, but no one can disagree with the level of success that he’s had in fundamentally changing the culture of Florida and having a significant amount of executive and legislative victories in a real short period of time,” he said.
DeSantis’s No. 1 problem at the debate will be his perceived lack of charisma, per Lee, but portraying himself as a “fighter against these mutual sets of enemies” could improve his likability.
Kall expects DeSantis to amplify the importance of his family to him as the governor attempts to humanize himself to the electorate. But after rewatching his previous debates, the coach implored DeSantis to be mindful of his nonverbal communication.
“They have these cutaway shots or the split screens where they show his reaction with others, and he doesn’t have the best poker face,” he said. “He thinks one of his political strengths is showing that he’ll never back down or waver, even if it’s correct, but I think people want to feel more connection to their candidate.”
Nine candidates contend they have qualified for next Wednesday’s two-hour Fox News-hosted debate, moderated by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, in Milwaukee: Trump, DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Ramaswamy, and fellow businessman Perry Johnson. The Republican National Committee dismissed Miami Mayor Francis Suarez‘s claims Friday he has qualified as Trump, Pence, and Christie continue to decline to sign the RNC’s loyalty pledge. Trump has not confirmed he will take part, though his participation is unlikely. Instead, he is likely to sit down with Tucker Carlson for an interview. Pence has indicated he will ultimately sign the pledge.
“Every candidate on and off the debate stage will have their knives out for Ron DeSantis because they know this is a two-man race,” DeSantis campaign spokesman Andrew Romeo said. “If DeSantis wasn’t the best candidate to beat Joe Biden, Donald Trump wouldn’t have spent over $20 million attacking him.”
Other candidates have mocked DeSantis’s memo, including Christie, who described his perspective regarding the debate as being “very simple” because voters prefer hearing “your plan for the future.”
“I’ll listen to the questions, answer them directly and honestly, and if someone up there says something that I believe is dishonest, to call them out on it,” he told CNN on Friday. “All the people are going through all these strategy memos stuff and coming up with canned lines and all the rest of it. I’ve watched that canned line thing. It doesn’t work all that well.”
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Ramaswamy, too, fundraised off the “Robot Ron” DeSantis memo, referencing his own less-is-more preparation, which will include playing tennis and spending time with his family. But he risks encountering higher expectations thanks to the memo as well.
“The ‘hammer’ is coming down, so we must be ready,” Ramaswamy said. “I’ve been approaching debate prep in an unconventional manner, but we must be ready to respond to the attacks on debate night.”
