Trump left seething after he learns Casey DeSantis mocked her husband's infamous 'wall' ad
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis owes much of his notoriety to a Donald Trump-worshipping ad he cut during the 2018 gubernatorial campaign — but that TV spot later sowed the seeds of discontent between the two Republicans.
The infamous ad shows DeSantis and his young daughter playing together with cardboard blocks to "build the wall," followed by him reading a book to his infant son invoking Trump's "you're fired" catchphrase from "The Apprentice."
But, while his wife Casey narrated the ad, she was strongly against it, reported Vanity Fair.
“Casey was apprehensive about the wall commercial,” said a former DeSantis campaign staffer. “She did not have a great deal of comfort in [Ron’s] marrying himself to Trump. But the ad was not going to run without her approval, and they had to convince her to agree. There were direct conversations on this.”
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Casey DeSantis found the ad silly at best and humiliating at worst, but despite her reservations she understood Trump's power over the Republican base.
“She values winning and destiny way more than love, or hate, or however you want to say it,” the former campaign staffer said.
“It was part of a winning strategy. [DeSantis] needed Trump in many ways, and Trumpism was winning Republican primaries at that point. Just look at how Adam Putnam begged to be accepted into Trump’s world even after Trump endorsed DeSantis.”
But word eventually got back to Trump that Casey DeSantis, and by extension her husband, hadn't been crazy about the ad and had even mocked the idea during the taping — and there were rumors that the production company that shot the commercial had an outtake reel of them laughing about his signature campaign promise.
“It somehow got back to Trump, and he apparently said, ‘Get me the f---ing tape,’” said veteran GOP strategist Rick Wilson. “I doubt he or his team ever actually saw a tape, but apparently it showed the two laughing about the idea for the ad, and even hearing about that did not sit well with Trump.”
Watch the ad below or at this link.
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