WSJ: DeSantis would benefit from a little humor

The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board, which is rooting for someone other than former President Trump to win the Republican Party’s nomination for president, says Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — Trump’s strongest rival — should lighten up and show a little humor to win over voters. 

Recent national polls show Trump with a huge lead over DeSantis, who has stumbled in recent months and was mocked by his rivals after his campaign launch on Twitter Space was marred by technical glitches.

DeSantis is also being criticized by some Republican strategists who work for his campaign rivals for having what they describe as an “awkward” or unfriendly personality.  

The Wall Street Journal editorial board observed in a recent essay that DeSantis is “no backslapper.” 

“He’d benefit from even a little of Ronald Reagan’s self-deprecating humor,” the paper wrote. “The best candidates for president campaign with some poetry and optimism as well as policy grit and personal toughness.”  

The Journal, however, praised DeSantis’s academic credentials and track record in public office, particularly his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida. 

“He was among the first governors to reopen in 2020 and had to fight lawsuits to do so. He was among the first governors to reopen his state’s economy and Florida became a mecca for tens of thousands who wanted a refuge from lockdown isolation,” the paper wrote in the May 25 editorial.  

It also cited other accomplishments in his legislative record, such as a law to expand school choice options to all Florida students, $3.3 billion for Everglades restoration, tort and insurance reform, tax cuts and “insisting on free speech in higher education and resisting woke ideology.” 

But The Journal pointed out that one “rap against Mr. DeSantis is that he’s a cultural brawler more than a likeable unifier.” 

“There’s truth to this,” it wrote.  

DeSantis has received criticism from Democrats and Republican rivals for his sometimes awkward handling of social situations, such as recently in Iowa, when he was photographed laughing so uproariously at an event that HuffPost.com called the reaction “unhinged.” 

A Republican strategist for a rival campaign said DeSantis has “personality” issues. 

“He’s a very awkward guy, when you look at those clips of him trying to be personable with people in Iowa and New Hampshire,” said the strategist.  

“He seems to be going too far on all this woke stuff and going after Disney. Disney is the second-biggest employer in all of Florida,” the source said. “Ron DeSantis is socially awkward and he’s not a nice guy. And you know what? People are picking up on it.”

The rival campaign strategist said DeSantis “is best when he’s doing Q-and-A with the press,” referring to the governor’s skill at battling with reporters at press conferences.