We’re five months out from the Iowa caucuses and the Republican trolling has already achieved a new level, with “Trump’s people” flying an aerial banner over the State Fair that said “Be Likeable, Ron!” – and even the Fox News hosts had to chuckle at that one.
With Former George W. Bush speechwriter Marc Thiessen as their guest, “America’s Newsroom” anchors Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino highlighted the weekend stunt in Des Moines – actually the second time Trump had buzzed the fairgrounds, the first being when he flew over in “Trump Force One.”
There is a plane that flew overhead while Ron DeSantis was flipping burgers or whatever they were doing,” Hemming said. “This is what the plane said: ‘Be likable, Ron!’ Clearly a shot from Trump’s team.”
[OFF-CAMERA TITTERING, PROBABLY THIESSEN]
“They were creative – Alexis McAdams asked him about that,” Hemming said, then threw to footage of the Fox field reporter’s walk-and-talk with the governor shortly after the message was received:
“Do you think you’re a likable candidate?” she asked, on the brink of giggling.
“I think that’s a narrative,” a visibly unamused DeSantis shot right back. “When you have Trump doing that, he has so many people that would never vote for him. I have seen that in Florida. They want a leader. They want somebody that will be in it for them and our candidacy is about the American pe … “
Alright, alright, that’s enough of that.
Anyway “Newsroom” wasn’t the only newsroom to report new acrimony between teams Trump and DeSantis: NewsNation analyst Chris Stirewalt said that the event highlighted “deep hostility,” “enmity” even, between the two camps.
Even if an occult hand moved to produce the banner stunt, Hemming didn’t think any of the weekend heckling, plane-buzzing, or name-calling would do much damage to DeSantis:
“Here is what I think – all that will be forgotten in about what, nine days? If DeSantis makes his mark in that debate, he will have some momentum there in Iowa.”
Watch the entire exchange in the video above.