On Ali Velshi MSNBC show on Sunday, Rick Wilson of the disgraced Lincoln Project tore into Ron DeSantis. So intent was Wilson on diminishing DeSantis, that for such purposes he actually praised his otherwise despised Donald Trump.
There is no reason to believe that Wilson in any way has the interests of the Republican party at heart. To the contrary, he makes his money by catering to the most rabid of the Trump/GOP-hating left. Still, Wilson's comments could be of some interest if for no other reason than to see how the left is sizing up the race.
Wilson began by attacking DeSantis's personality, claiming that he "doesn't like humans, has to pretend to be human." He insisted DeSantis has a "mean streak." Yes, Rick Wilson said that, without any introspection about his own behavior.
In contrast, despite being sure to get on record that he dislikes everything about Trump, Wilson argued Trump does have "charisma" and "energy."
In a particularly gruesome metaphor, Wilson then predicted that in a debate, Trump would "tear Ron DeSantis's head off and kick it around like a soccer ball."
Again, this could well just be Wilson trying to tear down DeSantis because he and the Dems see him as the biggest threat to Biden.
Note: Imagining DeSantis's head being torn off and kicked around is in keeping with Wilson's creepy penchant for violent fantasies about Republicans. In 2019, we noted him saying of Trump, "If you cut him, he'll still bleed," advising Democrats to up the Trump admin "body count," encouraging Dems to inflict a "death of 1,000 cuts" and "raise the pain level."
As we said then, Wilson is one unwell dude.
Rick Wilson saying that in a debate, Donald Trump will "tear Ron DeSantis's head off and kick it around like a soccer ball" was sponsored in part by GlaxoSmithKline, maker of Trelegy, T-Mobile, and Safelite.
Here's the transcript.
MSNBC
Velshi
5/14/23
10:16 am EDTALI VELSHI: Let's talk, about, you tweeted about Ron Desantis, because some people have said that he's the future, the leader of the Republican party.
You tweeted the other day: Ron DeSantis is the most overpriced stock in American politics. Which is, you know, I'm an economics guy, so when you say things like that, I pay attention.
Talk to me about that. When Ron DeSantis speaks, there is always a theory that if Ron Desantis and Donald Trump made it to a debate together, Donald Trump would eat him alive, because Donald Trump beats a lot of people alive at these things.
Ron DeSantis may be doing all of the things necessary to be a presidential candidate, but when we see him as an actual presidential candidate, a lot of people are going to be a bit surprised.
RICK WILSON: Ron DeSantis has a strange personal affect. He does not like to make eye contact, He does not like human beings. I guarantee you, after this Iowa trip, he's exhausted by having to pretend to be human for three days, or two days, however long he was out there.
This is guy who, who notoriously is short with people, he's unpleasant one-on-one, and the donors that have flocked to him right now are squirrelly about him now, because they're starting to see, he's kind of got a mean streak.
And in American politics, a mean streak is not really a good thing. And voters are seeing that, I think, a little bit.
He's got all this mechanical stuff around him, that's the right thing to do. But even a great campaign can't save a bad candidate. A bad candidate can sometimes, you know, a great campaign can sometimes pull one along, but you've gotta have a certain amount of felicity and grace and engagement with people if you're going to run for the highest office in the land.
And Ron DesSantis is going to have to go to places like New Hampshire, and sit in a diner with the Merrimack County Republican state committeeman for an hour, as this 79-year-old dude talks about the gold standard, or whatever he's obsessed with. And, and you can't just walk out. He can't just leave the room.
. . .
I dislike Donald Trump in every conceivable aspect of his, of his behavior, his character, everything else. But he has charisma. He engages people. He has a sense of, he has a sense of, of energy about him that will probably, you know, end up in the primary debates, coming out again. The base will rally back around him.
And look, I said this the other night. You watch the way that Donald Trump behaved in that townhall. And I thought to myself, good God. He's going to tear Ron DeSantis's head off and kick it around like a soccer ball. This guy will go nowhere against him.
