The Ron DeSantis Anti-Gay Ad Marks a New Low in Presidential Politics
Throughout the course of the last decade or so Donald Trump has continually done things so egregiously awful and wrong that a weary and exhausted public was constantly forced to ask whether or not Trump’s latest boondoggle was real or not.
The President of the United States couldn’t possibly have told a quartet of American congresswoman who committed the unforgivable sin of not being caucasian to “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came”, could he? That would be extremely, transparently racist, even by Trump standards.
But he sure as shit Tweeted that shit, just as he is on record bragging about how one of the primary perks of stardom and celebrity is a universal invitation to grab women by their genitalia. “Grab ‘em by the pussy” were the exact words of a man many think was literally sent from God to save our troubled and wayward nation.
I recently saw that Elon Musk, the second richest man in the world and an ostensible grown-up in his fifties with over a hundred children, most of whom don’t speak to him, tweeted “Zuck is a Cuck” and “I propose a literal dick measuring contest” accompanied by a ruler emoji.
My initial reaction was that there was no way even an emotionally stunted man-child like Musk could tweet something so puerile and pathetic. It clearly had to be a joke, right? It had to be from a parody account.
Alas, it was no joke. Musk actually tweeted that shit.
“This can’t possibly be real” was also my response to a notorious spot @DeSantisWarRoom, the official Twitter account of DeSantis’ campaign reposted on the last day of Pride Month.
An actual image from the homophobic, homoerotic spot
If the goal was to create a political commercial that was simultaneously screamingly homophobic and inexplicably but persistently homoerotic then it succeeded beyond its wildest dreams. If the goal was to convince the public that DeSantis is a sane human being fit for ANY job, let alone the top one in the world, then it failed miserably.
The political advertisement is designed to convince what the DeSantis campaign clearly sees as a Republican party that is rabid and virulent in their all-consuming hatred of the LGTBQ community that Donald Trump LOVES gay people and trans folks and wants drag queens inside every classroom and sexual predators in every bathroom but Ron DeSantis HATES the gay community. He DESPISES THEM.
The ad was supposed to be red meat for meme-happy, anti-woke cultural warriors but it’s so extreme and unhinged that I imagine that a fair number of Conservatives looked at it in horror and thought, “Jesus, we hate gay people but not THAT much. Show a little finesse.”
Against a backdrop of the kind of thumping electronic music you’d find in many gay bars and nightclubs, the ad shows a clip of Trump proudly vowing, “I will do everything in my power to protect our LGTBQ citizens.”
Trump is then shown shaking hands with noted REPUBLICAN Caitlyn Jenner followed by the former President asserting that in Trump Tower the wealthy lifelong Conservative could use whichever bathroom she wants.
Trump’s transparently insincere, pandering attempts to convince the LGTBQ community that he does not hate them with a white-hot passion are treated as the words of a pro-gay extremist intent on having drag queen groomers force your children to be trans.
Trump’s ostensible pro-gay extremism is contrasted with DeSantis’ anti-gay zealotry. DeSantis understands that Trump became popular among Republicans because he’s full of hate and unmerited self-regard but also because something about his whole tacky essence appealed to meme-makers and other extremely online citizens.
So DeSantis tries to appeal to the kids, in a manner not unlike Steve Buscemi toting around a skateboard in the famous meme, with references to popular memes and online imagery.
DeSantis is shown shooting lasers accompanied by a red NO. Against sick drum and bass beats DeSantis is hailed as a governor who signed the “Most Extreme Slate of Anti-Trans Laws in Modern History.”
This is followed by a brief clip of Christian Bale as insane mass murderer Patrick Bateman from American Psycho, a character whose extreme ant-gay beliefs DeSantis wants the world to know he shares.
A parade of screaming headlines like“Ron DeSantis Signs Draconian Anti-Trans Bathroom Bill” follow, along with images of muscular, handsome, scantily clad men for some reason.
DeSantis confusingly seems to sending the message that no one in the history of the universe has ever hated gay people or the trans community more than Ron DeSantis but if you ARE gay then feel free to jerk off to all of the quality man-meat on display in the commercial.
My response to this ad
Headlines depicting DeSantis as a crazed Fascist, like “DeSantis’ Assault on Leftism is Totalitarianism in disguise” are offered up as evidence of the governor’s strength and determination.
It’s hard to overstate the weirdness and unhinged aggression of the ad, the way it panders relentlessly to sad, lonely men who can think of nothing better or more admirable than a Presidential candidate who screams from the mountains that he will do everything in his power to hurt people who are not straight and cisgender.
“A real wolf has arrived” are the final words in this insane insult to the intelligence of the American people, along with a clip of Leonardo DiCaprio from The Wolf of Wall Street.
DeSantis does not seem to understand that DiCaprio’s character in The Wolf of Wall Street is a bad guy, as is Patrick Bateman in American Psycho. That doesn’t seem to matter as much to him as the fact that they’re straight, rich, white and wear nice clothes.
Surely no one who was straight, white, rich and wore expensive clothing could be bad, right?
The DeSantis campaign seems to have realized, too late, what a mistake it had made with the ad. It’s no longer up on the DeSantis campaign Twitter feed after being widely and rightly mocked as insane and offensive.
The ad is so crazy and so off that it feels more like a Vic Berger satirical video than an actual ad. Then again DeSantis seems to be doing worse by the day so this ad feels like a desperate Hail Mary from a man who at this point has little left to lose.
This horrible ad accomplished the impossible; it went so far and is so wrong that it accidentally ended up making Donald Trump look like a human being capable of compassion and cultural sensitivity.
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