Florida Governor and 2024 GOP candidate Ron DeSantis and his wife Casey DeSantis recently visited Iowa for a campaign appearance, and once again, made their intention to wage a "War on Woke" clear.
NBC News Correspondent Dasha Burns shared a clip of her interview with the governor via Twitter, writing, "DeSantis and Trump are battling it out in the Governor’s first week as a candidate. A surprising split came on the “woke” issue with Trump stepping back and DeSantis leaning in. I asked DeSantis about it today: 'You've got to be willing to fight the woke' WATCH"
In the clip, Burns can be heard saying, "[Trump] said he doesn't like to use the word 'woke’' because people don't know what it means," noting, "That's obviously a big part of your messaging. What do you say to that?"
DeSantis replied, "We know what woke is, it's a form of cultural Marxism."
The Daily Beast Executive Editor Katie Baker, in an op-ed published Sunday, gives special attention Casey DeSantis.
Baker points out the fact during the couple's visit, Casey flaunted a "Where Woke Goes to Die" biker jacket, in support of her husband's constant culture wars messaging — adding, the jacket "brought to mind nothing so much as the racks of a Red State big-bin store where it would be retailing for $24.99."
She writes, "To be fair, Casey DeSantis wore the bomber to a charity biker rally and I’m sure the campaign intended it to be a viral moment, like Melania Trump’s infamous 'I Really Don't Care' coat that the former First Lady donned to check out the border crisis.
Baker raises the questions, "What does Casey DeSantis want us to know about her? What does she stand for?"
She continues, "Well, we know she's a woman who has high ambitions for her awkward husband. We know she's a woman who understands the power of the image. We know she's a woman who has overcome the great trials of a breast cancer diagnosis," adding, "Anyone going through that must have strength and grit. Still, we've all met people who have stared death in the face and came out the other side incandescently glowing with life and with love."
Baker writes:
Perhaps that is the case in Casey DeSantis' private and personal life, but on the public stage, with that black leather jacket, she's telling us she stands for something else. She's telling us she is cheering on a spouse who gets his kicks off targeting his fellow Americans. She's telling us she's down with his message of division and dehumanization. She's telling us they are ready for far more power. She's incandescent in her black leather jacket, at her husband’s side—both of them seething with hate.
However, the difference, Baker argues: "Casey DeSantis' coat is just like her husband Ron DeSantis' campaign: Crude. Grasping. Saying the ugly part out loud. Whereas Trump would wink-wink at the fascists—who can forget his dog whistle to the 'very fine people on both sides' at Charlottesville—DeSantis wants to peel off Trump's base by being even more explicit about who he intends to target. You can see it right there on his wife's jacket: DeSantis' Florida is where the woke go to die—and a lot of other people die as well."
The Florida Department of Health, according to a Columbia Law School report, noted, "Governor DeSantis and members of his staff repeatedly questioned the accuracy of the COVID-19 death rates, with his press secretary Fred Piccolo Jr. tweeting: 'we can tell you definitively that Florida is counting deaths that were not directly caused by COVID-19," adding, "Mr. Piccolo has also sought to downplay the COVID-19 pandemic in other ways. On one occasion, he erroneously tweeted: 'we had one COVID death in Florida yesterday . . yes you read that right. One.' In fact, on the day in question, there were 47 deaths."
Baker asks, "Will Red State primary voters see more of themselves in strivers like Ron and Casey—or in their old, brash, filthy-rich 'God Emperor' and his supermodel spouse?"