Free Republic

Ron DeSantis may have lost the White House by handing his social media operation over to clueless youngsters who offended both donors and voters, while being outwitted by Donald Trump. And analysts warned his faltering campaign may have been strangled at birth by inexperienced staffers given free rein to use Nazi imagery and faked photos of Trump kissing his chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci. Many were posted online by third-parties but they were made in the war room, according to two former aides as well as text messages reviewed by The New York Times. But the most notorious was a...

The G.O.P. contender’s campaign tried to take on Donald Trump’s online army. Now it just wants to end the meme wars. ---------------------------------- In early May, as Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida prepared to run for president, about a dozen right-wing social media influencers gathered at his pollster’s home for cocktails and a poolside buffet. The guests all had large followings or successful podcasts and were already fans of the governor. But Mr. DeSantis’s team wanted to turn them into a battalion of on-message surrogates who could tangle with Donald J. Trump and his supporters online. For some, however, the gathering...

Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, is quietly assembling a senior staff for an expected 2024 presidential campaign that will be headed by his top political adviser, Generra Peck, and around seven other Republican operatives serving as top advisers, according to two people familiar with the matter. The leadership roster remains subject to change since the campaign – which could launch as soon as the start of next month – does not yet technically exist and most salaries are being paid, for the moment, through the state Republican party. But some of the senior staff have started to move in recent weeks...

Official White House Photo by Shealah CraigheadFormer Surgeon General Jerome Adams and his wife, Lacey, have coined a term they call the Trump Effect. The term is used in relationship to difficulties the couple experiences due to Adams’ time serving in the Trump administration. He said he isn’t speaking out to complain about his inability to find work but “it is context.” Adams found a new job after about eight months. Adams was looking for a spot in academia after his time at the White House was finished. He said he was rejected because universities were concerned about reactions...