Ron DeSantis‘ presidential aspirations are taking another hit as his fellow Republicans reportedly express concerns over the state of his book tour. After an embarrassing stop in Iowa, the top event coordinator for the tour has pulled out of its contract, leaving DeSantis’ team scrambling. As for why this is a big deal, the tour was serving as a soft launch for DeSantis’ presidential campaign, and well, it’s not going great.
According to sources, Liberty Event Specialists exited the tour over concerns that DeSantis’ camp would “scapegoat them for tactical flubs on the tour.” That would be the Iowa stop, which Trump supporters quickly used to discredit DeSantis as a potential nominee.
Via The Daily Beast:
The tour hit its first bump in Iowa earlier this month, when DeSantis left the critical early-voting state’s Republican governor, Kim Reynolds, hanging for more than 30 minutes, speaking from a podium while she waited for their one-on-one discussion next to an empty wingback chair.
But it was another podium-centric blip at the Iowa stop that became a flashpoint. The podium had been removed at some point before DeSantis spoke, leaving him wondering where it had gone—with Reynolds demanding of someone backstage, “We want the podium back.”
The disastrous tour is not going unnoticed by Republicans, who are not liking what they’re seeing.
“Word is they quietly rescheduled some stuff… but it definitely feels like he’s peeled some back,” a Florida Republican consultant said. “I think the soft launch is having an effect. I think it’s gone poorly, I hear nothing but they are unhappy.”
On the bright side, at least no one is talking about DeSantis eating pudding with his fingers. That’s gotta count for something, right?
(Via The Daily Beast)