During an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," branding expert Donny Deutsch expressed confusion about a recent Ron DeSantis ad that seems to have alienated more people than it has increased his presidential hopes.

The ad, which sought to tie Donald Trump to the LGBTQ community has been roundly criticized for a variety of reasons by conservatives and liberals alike, and that led to "Morning Joe" regular Deutsch to scorch the Florida Republican and label him the "Prince of Darkness."

After host Willie Geist shared the clip for the MSNBC panel Deutsch remained puzzled about exactly whom the ad was aimed to influence.

"First of all, DeSantis is flailing," he began. "He is trying to continually move to the right of Trump. This LGBTQ thing is just -- do you think this is moving voters? Are you trying to peg Trump as a patron of this group?"

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"You know, as an ad guy, there is one thing I learned over the years, people aren't stupid," he elaborated. "I don't know the voter that will see that and go, 'You know, DeSantis -- you're my guy.'"

"DeSantis is a dark, dark, dark character," he continued. "I've talked a lot about it on the show, how at the end of the day, candidate Trump, even though, you know, we eviscerate him, there is a likability if you are a Trump guy about him. He's entertaining, a lounge act, this and that."

"This guy [DeSantis] is just dark, the prince of darkness. That is one of the darkest, most bizarre, twisted, deviant ads I've ever seen," he added.

Watch the video below or at this link.

MSNBC 07 06 2023 07 04 28youtu.be