A super PAC supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s presidential bid wants him to defend former President Donald Trump in next week’s first GOP primary debate, abstain from jabs at former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and instead focus his attacks on biotech entrepreneur and fellow candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, according to a debate-prep memo that strikes a desperate tone as DeSantis’s campaign has failed to gain traction.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis flips pork chops and burgers at the Iowa Pork Producers booth during the ... [+]
The memo, authored by the Never Back Down super PAC and first reported by the New York Times, instructs DeSantis in specific detail to deploy four key strategies for the upcoming Fox News debate, including attacking President Joe Biden and the media “3-5 times,” stating DeSantis’s “positive vision,” “[hammering]” Ramaswamy and defending Trump.
The memo—which was published by the super PAC, a common tactic to avoid violating campaign finance laws—also proposes DeSantis steer clear of policy talk, citing late Fox News CEO Roger Ailes’ “Orchestra Pit Theory” that suggests candidates who discuss dense policy issues are less likely to attract viewers.
In discussing Trump, Never Back Down instructs DeSantis to refer to him as a “breath of fresh air” when he was elected president, but also remind voters that “he’s got so many distractions that it’s almost impossible for him to focus on moving the country forward,” the document reads, citing an anti-Trump political ad as inspiration.
The memo also tells DeSantis to tell a “personal anecdote story” about his children and wife, Casey, while “showing emotion.”
The debate-prep memo was published along with a trove of internal documents from Never Back Down laying out strategies for DeSantis’s flailing campaign on the website of Axiom Strategies, a political advisory firm owned by Never Back Down’s chief strategist, Jeff Roe.
“Trump isn’t here so let’s just leave him alone. He’s too weak to defend himself here,” the memo suggests DeSantis should say.
Former Biden White House Chief of Staff Ronald Klain pointed out the oddity of the strategy in response to the memo, tweeting “I've prepared a number of winning candidates for Presidential primary debates. I've never seen a strategy of defending the candidate ahead of you, and punching down, succeed.”
The Times notes that political materials from super PACs are often posted on websites where they are unlikely to be discovered by the public in order to avoid federal campaign laws that prevent super PACs from directly coordinating with the campaigns of the candidates they are supporting.
Fox News will host the first GOP primary debate in Milwaukee on Wednesday, though it’s unclear if Trump will attend.
DeSantis’s standing in polls has tanked since Trump officially launched his presidential campaign in November and has ramped up attacks on his one-time ally. DeSantis’s campaign has dealt with a series of mishaps since launching in May, including bleeding money and staff, a glitchy rollout on Twitter Spaces and failure to net endorsements from fellow Republicans. DeSantis has blamed his performance on “elites” and the “liberal media,” claiming they are conspiring against him to prevent him from being elected.
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