Ron DeSantis’ Republican presidential campaign recently posted a deranged ad on Friday, taking at shot at former President Donald Trump and Pride Month using clips from American Psycho and The Wolf of Wall Street.
“To wrap up ‘Pride Month,’ let’s hear from the politician who did more than any other Republican to celebrate it…” tweeted the DeSantis War Room, attached to a bizarre and unhinged compilation showing Trump’s ties to the LGBT community.
To wrap up “Pride Month,” let’s hear from the politician who did more than any other Republican to celebrate it…
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) June 30, 2023
The video opened with a 2016 clip of Trump telling the Republican National Convention, “I will do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens,” as a rainbow pride flag was edited over the top.
The video then showed several clips of Trump with transgender Republican Caitlyn Jenner, before a meme showed DeSantis with lightning bolts shooting out of his eyes next to the word “NO.”
From here, the ad only became even more unhinged, cutting from a “Chad” meme to the headline, “DeSantis Signs ‘Most Extreme Slate of Anti-Trans Laws in Modern History’,” as aggressive techno music played.
The video went on to show clips of necrophiliac-serial killer-rapist Patrick Bateman from American Psycho, British gangster Tommy Shelby from Peaky Blinders, and convicted fraudster Jordan Belfort from Wolf of Wall Street, overlaid with even more headlines referencing DeSantis’ “draconian” and “evil” anti-LGBT record.
Finally, at the end of the video, a drawing of DeSantis as an alligator with reptile eyes and spiky teeth could be seen. The video was ridiculed by many on social media, including supporters of DeSantis’ rival Trump.
Several users pointed out that Trump’s comment about protecting LGBTQ citizens was made just after the Pulse nightclub shooting, where an ISIS supporter killed 49 people and injured 58 others.
“Lots of issues with this video,” reacted Trump 2020 rapid response director Andrew Clark. “Chiefly, the opening line from Trump saying ‘I’ll do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens’ as if that’s a huge hit?”
He questioned, “Is DeSantis opposed to protecting LGBTQ citizens? I get the message they were going for, but damn this isn’t it.”
“Holy shit this is cringe,” tweeted podcast host Tim Pool, who argued that while he gave “credit to DeSantis,” the DeSantis campaign wasn’t “doing themselves any favors.”
