MSNBC host Joy Reid attacked a new campaign ad for Florida Governor and potential GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, accusing him of “tormenting gay kids.” While ‘Mamas for DeSantis’ released the ad to show the governor’s commitment to protecting traditional values, Reid portrayed it as “mama bear fascism” and took to her show to criticize Conservatives.
With two guests, Democratic strategist Cornell Belcher and former Speaker John Boehner advisor Maura Gillespie, Reid continued her attack. She questioned whether DeSantis was benefitting from the desire for change, saying that he had become an “extremist” and was only focused on “wokeism.”
She went on to suggest that he couldn’t get the nomination and if Joe Biden had been running in the same election, he would have taken the Democratic nomination instead of Hillary Clinton. Adding that even if DeSantis were to become the nominee, with such extreme positions on abortion, it would make him unelectable.
Despite Reid’s attempts to paint DeSantis in a negative light, there is more to be said about the governor and his policies.
Since his election in 2018, DeSantis has fulfilled many of his campaign promises, the most recognizable being the littoral combat ship contract for Mayport Naval Station in Jacksonville and his response to COVID-19, which was praised by former President Donald Trump as a “model for other states.” Moreover, DeSantis has been a pro-life advocate, passing the “severely flawed” and “deeply disappointing” six-week abortion ban.
Reid has a right to her opinion, however, it is important to recognize that there are both positive and negative aspects to DeSantis’ policy decisions. Even if Reid disagrees with them, it is worth noting that many of the initiatives DeSantis has enacted have been effective and popular with his constituency, making it hard to view him as the “disaster” Reid portrays him as.