Yecchh.
This hacky, dishonest attack ad undermines the one major advantage Gov. DeSantis should have over Donald Trump in their approaching battle for the GOP nomination: DeSantis doesn’t behave like he’s 10 years old. Allowing this photo to appear in the ad is particularly irresponsible…
…as it is a bad fake. If a candidate will allow fake photos to be used to mislead the public, what else will he lie about? This one is particularly stupid, because it shouldn’t be hard to legitimately criticize Donald Trump on myriad issues; creating false images to trigger junior high “Ew!” reactions is wildly unprofessional. Why is DeSantis relying on people who think this is legitimate advocacy?
The claim that Trump should be blamed for Fauci’s epic ethics villainy is also foolish. Fauci was fawned over by the news media and had managed to make himself the symbol of “science” in an over-long career. In a public health emergency where Trump had so little expertise that even he couldn’t pretend otherwise, firing Fauci was politically impossible. He was forced to rely on “experts,” who, in this case betrayed his trust and that of the public. The whole video is a cheap shot.
If DeSantis is going to stoop to Trump’s bottom of the barrel level of campaigning, why would anyone who doesn’t already hate Trump conclude that he would be an improvement?
Ethics Alarms 
If DeSantis really got it, he would fire the folks and apologize for either approving or allowing that campaign. His base would applaud owning it and the opposition will make hay no matter what he does or doesn’t do
“If DeSantis is going to stoop to Trump’s bottom of the barrel level of campaigning, why would anyone who doesn’t already hate Trump conclude that he would be an improvement?”
You know, I had high hopes for DeSantis…
Dear God, can we please get an adult from either party to run?
I nearly switched from Republican to Independent before the 2016 election, and I’ve been a Republican from political birth, just so tired of them talking a great game and then rolling over or behaving like the other side anyway.
Liked the Trump policies, got so tired of what he said I stopped listening at year 3 of his administration. DeSantis seemed to offer the policies and pretty good oratory. And then he starts to behave like the other guy.
I get that it’s politics, and the rest of the ad is pretty standard fare otherwise, but even that, really? You’ve got great stuff to run on, and, as Jack would say, any Republican with two synapses to rub together realizes Trump probably loses again, as bad as Joe Biden is. Red wave, anyone? I think (or used to think) he wins the nomination over Trump once the primaries start. Now I wonder (indictments notwithstanding…).
The sad reality that you’re going to wind up with leadership depending on the way the votes fall, meaning it’s imperative to cast one. It needs to be the one that will do the least harm at a minimum, but wow. Talk about holding your nose to cast a vote. And that’s just in the Republican primary. I’m tired of that.
As my daughter, a dyed in the wool (or, as I’d like to think, brainwashed in college…) liberal said at the last election, “a nation of 300 million people, and these two are the best we could come up with?”
To quote Reagan, “There (we) go again.”
I don’t think the slam was very effective. I think Trump was right that if he had fired Saint Anthony of Fauci, the brouhaha would have been endless.
Personally, I think the ad is despicable, but the New York Times raises the obvious question: where do campaigns draw the line?
A political cartoon of the two embracing might be a ‘stretcher’ to emphasize the point that Trump liked and supported Fauci despite his public statements to the contrary. Unethical cartoon?
A columnist might say that “despite what he says, his actions suggest … .” Unethical column?
A political campaigner might say of their opponents that they’re going to put you all in chains. Or, another might say the southern border has been abolished. Unethical, or hyperbole to make a point?
I was a soldier for a long time, and the ethics preached (alas, not always observed) in that community are quite a bit different from what is commonly accepted in politics, a lesson I learned well as I came to learn of and understand the duplicity of McNamara and Johnson.
If DeSantis were taking my advice, the ad would be withdrawn, he would apologize publicy, and public firings would ensue. And, most likely, he would drop in the Republican polls.
Another commenter wished for adult candidates; they are there and in the wings, but behaving as what I used to think of as presidential gets them zero traction.