cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/1070394

Gay Republicans are abandoning Florida Gov. and 2024 presidential candidate Ron DeSantis Ā® in droves after his rapid response team shared a bizarre video bragging about his reign of terror against the LGBTQ+ community.

The video opens with several clips of Donald Trump ā€“ DeSantisā€™s top primary opponent ā€“ expressing support for LGBTQ+ people and frames these comments as damning. Most of the comments are from before he was elected president in 2016. Then, the clip abruptly shifts to intense music and a photo of DeSantis shooting lasers out of his eyes, followed by snapshots of headlines about the anti-LGBTQ+ laws DeSantis has passed.

The video proudly shares that DeSantis has been called ā€œevil,ā€ ā€œdangerous,ā€ ā€œdraconian,ā€ and ā€œpublic enemy no. 1ā€ and even includes a clip accusing DeSantis of passing legislation ā€œthat literally threatens trans existence.ā€ It also contains images of shirtless buff muscle men inter-spliced with these statements about how DeSantis is hurting LGBTQ+ people in his state.

And despite DeSantisā€™s years-long crusade against LGBTQ+ people, this video, for whatever reason, seems to be the last straw for gay conservatives who had formerly viewed the Florida governor as a palatable alternative to Trump.

ā€œNot only did DeSantis show that he is as anti-LGBTQ+ as the mainstream media has alleged, he made a mockery of any GOP candidate that shows an interest in LGBTQ+ rights, setting the whole party back decades,ā€ wrote Yvonne Dean-Bailey, former Republican state legislator in New Hampshire, in an op-ed for the Daily Beast.

Dean-Bailey called the video ā€œthe most anti-LGBTQ+ ad in recent history,ā€ adding that his actions ā€œtarnish the image of the conservative movement.ā€

ā€œAs a lifelong conservative, I believe in the principles of limited government, personal responsibility, and individual liberties. Yet, DeSantisā€™ approach to LGBTQ+ issues goes against these very principles.ā€

Well-known conservative activist David Leatherwood also shared his disappointment over the ad on Twitter.

ā€œI spent the last 7 years of my life working with Trump to make the GOP a more welcoming place for gays WHILE ALSO being anti-groomer, anti-woke and pro religious liberty. Iā€™ve even worked WITH DeSantis on this agenda. This ad is a slap in the face, and makes any LGBT person supporting DeSantis look like an absolute idiot.ā€

Even disgraced gay Rep. George Santos (R-NY) got in on the anti-DeSantis action. Santos ā€“ who is currently facing 13 criminal charges ā€“ told The Hill he ā€œused to think DeSantis was a great governorā€ but is now ā€œstarting to think differently.ā€

Santos has long been on team Trump but spoke out in favor of DeSantisā€™s Donā€™t Say Gay law. ā€œI still stand by the bill in its nature,ā€ he said, ā€œbut now it seems that it had a more perverse agenda behind it.ā€

ā€œIā€™m starting to see [DeSantis] for what he is,ā€ Santos added. ā€œHis rhetoric is to diminish and remove rights away from people like myself, and I canā€™t support that.ā€

The LGBTQ+ conservative group Log Cabin Republicans criticized the ad as ā€œdivisive and desperate.ā€

ā€œConservatives understand that we need to protect our kids, preserve womenā€™s sports, safeguard womenā€™s spaces and strengthen parental rights,ā€ the group said in a statement, ā€œbut Ron DeSantisā€™ extreme rhetoric has just ventured into homophobic territory.ā€

ā€œRon DeSantis and his team canā€™t tell the difference between commonsense gays and the radical Left gays. He, sadly, sees them all the same. His naive policy positions are dangerous and politically stupid.ā€

And it isnā€™t just gay Republicans speaking out against the ad. DeSantis has been slammed and mocked from all angles.

The New Republic published a piece positing it could be ā€œthe weirdest ad in American political history.ā€

And out Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg pointed out the ā€œstrangeness of trying to prove your manhood by putting up a video that splices images of you in between oiled-up shirtless bodybuildersā€ before blasting DeSantis for focusing on bullying marginalized groups rather than helping Americans.

Christina Pushaw, the DeSantis campaignā€™s Rapid Response director, defended the video on Twitter after former Trump official Richard Grenell called it ā€œundeniably homophobic.ā€

ā€œOpposing the federal recognition of ā€˜Pride Monthā€™ isnā€™t ā€˜homophobic.ā€™ We wouldnā€™t support a month to celebrate straight people for sexual orientation, eitherā€¦ Itā€™s unnecessary, divisive, pandering. In a country as vast and diverse as the USA, identity politics is poison.ā€

DeSantis is currently in a distant second place in 2024 Republican primary polling, getting an average of 21.5% support in recent polls, according to RealClearPolitics. Trump is first with an average of 52.4%.

    • darthfabulous42069@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 year ago

      Honestly, the more moderate Republicans that turn away from the extremists and condemn them, the better off the U.S. will be. Theyā€™re the only ones that can challenge the extremistsā€™ hold on power, being on the inside, and unless theyā€™re encouraged to and supported when they do, the extremists will fester unchecked and we face the very real possibility of a genocide attempt in this country if theyā€™re allowed to just do that.

      But yeah, it really is foolish for any minority to think the right wing has anything to offer them at this point, whether they be LGBTQ+, a marginalized ethnic group, or what-have-you.