He needs her. It has, say some of its most trusted allies, what it does not. He sometimes deals with the “retail” face-to-face part of politics with the grace and rhythm of that “Short Circuit” robot. Handshake, handshake, handshake. Smile, smile, smile. Photo, photo – want a photo? The smallest of small conversations makes him mess with his wedding ring. The strings can also be zip lines. He knows he has to do this, so he does, but sometimes it seems like he just wants to find the fastest way back to the rear of the SUV.
They are not just voters and possible supporters. Donors complain because they rarely hear about it, just to chat between handing over the checks.
“It’s true,” a donor told me. “He does less donor maintenance than anyone I know at his level. I raised half a million dollars for him. It is difficult for me to talk to him on the phone. Literally, I have, you know, six senators and two governors that I can call back in 24 hours – no problem. And he doesn’t call you back – it’ll take two or three times. “
Kent Stermon, on a short list of good friends from DeSantis, last year reminded me of a fundraiser in St. Augustine when DeSantis was in Congress. “We got there and he stands in the corner with me, and there is a long line of people waiting to say hi to him,” he said. But DeSantis stayed there talking to Stermon about … baseball cards. Not just any baseball cards. “Topps’ 1987 baseball card set,” said Stermon, “what if I felt that being overproduced changed the value of baseball cards forever. And he talked for 15 minutes about it. Stermon could see people with deep pockets becoming impatient. DeSantis didn’t seem to care.
A Florida Republican strategist said: “I don’t think he sees fundraising as a priority.”
He does not know. “I’m not just calling people all the time. My opinion is that I am just doing my job, ”said DeSantis in his office last summer. “If anyone wants to support me, just work hard – do a good job.”
And they are not just donors. Yeah … everybody.
People who were with DeSantis in those SUVs or on flights on the state plane say he is reluctant to fill those hours (as many police officers do) with “call time”.
“They know the seven people they need to call when they’re in the car for the next 21 minutes,” said a donor who spent a lot of time with DeSantis.
“What is DeSantis doing instead?” I asked.
“He is … thought. “
“He sits there and looks at nothing,” said a close colleague.
“You will be in the car with Ron DeSantis and he will not say anything to you for an hour,” said this person. “He prefers it that way.”
Christmas parties at the governor’s mansion? A regular participant said, “He doesn’t seem to want to be there.”
“If you are so close to him, you will hurt his feelings from time to time,” Stermon told me. “But you learn that it is worth it.” He admitted that it looks “weird”. The people who know you best and are around you are the ones who struggle most to explain it. There is no malice, they insist. It’s not that he … to mean. It’s that he … can not. It’s not like him … wired. “I love my computer,” said the senior DeSantis employee. “But I’m not going to my computer for a hug.”
It can be different, however, when your wife is around. “He gets better with her,” said Gwen Graham, generally reluctant to say anything positive about DeSantis. “When she is around, he is happier. He’s just more engaged. “
“We all have responsibilities and weaknesses as human beings and one of the best ways to deal with your responsibilities is to find a partner in life who has all of them as incredible strengths. And Casey DeSantis is one of the most empathetic, charming and charming human beings I have ever met. She has a ‘Jackie O’ quality, ”Gaetz told me.
“She is very intelligent, probably the most intuitive person I have ever met,” said DeSantis last year. “With just her television career, she understands by presenting me in a speech – she understands how to do that. She is not afraid of the stage, after all, because she has done this for years and years, in front of the cameras. “
And so now, after DeSantis had finished speaking in the pulpit in front of the tents with the vaccines, the two walked towards the children pressed against the fence. “It’s good to see you,” DeSantis said in that nasal voice. His wife followed him, taking care not to let his heels sink too deep into the earth and the grass. “I’m Casey,” she said sweetly to the group, “and this is Madison.” The children gathered and took picture after picture, the governor shaking hands after hands.