The spokeswoman of biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who is seeking the GOP nomination for president, made fun of the idea that Gov. Ron DeSantis would take a rhetorical sledgehammer to her boss, calling him “Fake Vivek” or “Vivek the Fake” from the debate stage in Milwaukee.
Tricia McLaughlin was a former communications director of the Ohio Republican Party. She said that Viek’s task on August 23 will be to introduce himself to the American public and to present his vision.
She said: “These dull, canned attack lines from a robot candidate won’t change this.”
She said: “If DeSantis can’t use a spoon well, I doubt he will be very agile with a heavy sledgehammer.”
Axiom Strategies is the firm owned by Jeff Roe who is the political consultant of the Never Back Down PAC which supports DeSantis. Roe posted a memo on strategy and tactics for the governor to use at the first Republican National Committee presidential debate in Milwaukee.
The New York Times reported on the debate memo that was removed, but only after the Timesmen had been able to right-click it.
DeSantis was instructed in the memo to criticize President Joseph R. Biden, the media, and other candidates three to five times. He should also present a positive message two to three times and ignore attacks by non-first-tier contenders.
“Try to avoid making as many mistakes as possible. You give as many photos as possible. If you want coverage, attack and you’ll get it,” said the memo.
The memo’s theory on political debate success relied heavily on Roger Ailes’s maxim: If two men were debating and one fell into the orchestra pit while they were doing so, it would not matter which of the two was the better speaker. It was only the person who fell into the pit that would make the front page.
The author of the memo devised four possible orchestra pit moments that DeSantis could experience, which he called “GRD.”
1. Take a sledgehammer to Vivek Ramaswamy: “Fake Vivek”.
2. Defend Trump when Chris Christie attacks him: “Trump isn’t here, so let’s just leave him alone. He’s too weak to defend himself here. We’re all running against him. I don’t think we want to join forces with someone on this stage who’s auditioning for a show on MSNBC.”
3. Use a personal story to illustrate the emotion you feel about your family, children, or Casey.
These are known as microwave remarks in English politics. They are prepared and ready to go, all that the politician needs to do is warm them up on stage.
It is possible to be too prepared. Texas Gov. Rick Perry forgot to mention one of his three federal departments in a debate he held in 2011. He remembered Commerce and Education but forgot Energy. In a delightful twist, Trump named Perry his Energy Secretary.
DeSantis has been told to come up with a name for Ramaswamy by supporters, even though he has copied Trump’s gestures as well as his pronunciation of Chi-nah.
It is an attack on Trump that Christie was too weak to come to Milwaukee and debate with the other candidates. It’s obvious that none of them is being prosecuted at four trials, in four different venues.
It seems conventional to suggest that you tell a good story about your family. It’s almost unnecessary for a politician to have such wisdom, but there is a stinger at its end: “showing emotions.”
The fourth pit is the transcription of a video showing a man sitting on his porch. The inner voice of the man is heard analyzing his feelings towards Trump and whether it’s okay to abandon the man he loves.
I don’t like what is going on at the moment. The Democrats are a joke. It’s a mess. It’s a mess. I love Donald Trump. I love what he has done since he became president. It was like a breath of fresh air.
It was like he was constantly being attacked. My family was affected. After a while, my sister didn’t invite me to her Thanksgiving dinner.
I don’t think he’s able to focus on the future of the country because he’s so distracted by the constant fights – he’s always fighting for something. We’re heading in the wrong direction, so this election is crucial. We need someone who can win. You’d lose the bet if Trump won.
You need someone who is smart and knows how to build a team to resolve issues. They should also focus on those issues that are most important.
DeSantis’ campaign is based on this premise: Trump was great but the Deep State messed him up. DeSantis’s campaign is different. The Deep State won’t oppose him if he implements policies that Trump couldn’t.
DeSantis’ campaign seems to believe that he will win if Americans think he can bring some peace to the Thanksgiving meal. Passing a tax reduction is not the answer. Please pass the gravy.