Florida first lady Casey DeSantis has released a new video for the group Mamas for DeSantis, outlining the hardline rightwing agenda her husband has imposed on Florida and now seeks to impose on America. The video, which accuses progressives of 'coming after our kids', has been met with derision from critics who call it a 'desperate effort' to save Governor Ron DeSantis's floundering presidential campaign.
In the video, set to dramatic music and cut in a similar staccato fashion to a controversial DeSantis ad attacking Donald Trump on LGBTQ+ rights, Casey DeSantis lists Republican bugbears including school initiatives on diversity, equity and inclusion, LGBTQ+ rights and race in US history. She claims her husband has 'stopped' these initiatives in Florida, vowing to do the same nationally.
'When you come after our kids, we fight back because there's nothing we will not do to protect our children. They're not yours. These are our kids,' she says. The video also features footage of President Joe Biden and Dr Anthony Fauci, and shows children crying while being helped to wear masks.
Ja'han Jones, a columnist for MSNBC, described the video as 'a life preserver thrown to a candidate in distress, a desperate effort to save a floundering campaign before it drowns in its namesake's mediocrity'. He argued that Casey DeSantis's appeal to 'parents' rights' excludes immigrant parents, parents fighting gun violence, and parents of transgender children, among others.
Despite Casey DeSantis being widely seen as having greater natural political skills than her husband, polling shows Ron DeSantis trailing Donald Trump by around 30 points in the Republican primary race. The former president has seized on perceptions of Casey's influence, saying she is 'really running his campaign'.
