Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has made fighting wokeness one of the pillars of his 2024 Republican primary campaign. It’s a message that couples well with his record of opposing academic freedom, LGBTQ equality, and women’s rights.
A resurfaced ad from DeSantis’ aborted 2016 Senate run, though, is turning heads for all the wrong reasons.
It uses a photo of DeSantis and his wife Casey that has a vibe many have likened to an ad for erectile dysfunction medicine. They also appear to have been photoshopped onto a beach, an interesting choice considering Florida has 825 miles of shoreline.
Those oddities, though, are eclipsed by the ad’s caption, “Casey DeSantis: A man of integrity and honor.”
It’s pretty clear the ad means Casey is saying this about her husband. But that’s not how it reads. It reads like it’s saying Casey DeSantis is a man.
Crusading against LGBTQ rights is a hallmark of DeSantis’ presidential campaign. This made the ad seemingly misgendering his wife all the more hilarious to many observers.
One person referenced the right-wing transphobic rumors about former First Lady Michelle Obama by adding the line, “Michelle Obama set the bar, Casey will lift it!”
“Congrats to Casey on his big life change. It’s never too late!” @AnthropObscene joked.
Casey DeSantis is not trans or a man.
