Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is on the midterm ballot with a 10-point lead over his opponent Charlie Crist (D). With the midterms tomorrow, Crist is looking for that last-minute advantage that will at least soften the blow of defeat. A recent ad posted by First Lady Casey DeSantis' Twitter describes her husband as a "fighter" in a religious tone, complete with a Billy Graham-like voiceover. Crist responded to the ad saying that "I believe freedoms and rights are God-given. Ron DeSantis believes they are given by Ron DeSantis - which is why he has no trouble taking them away if you don’t act, think, or look like him."
I believe freedoms and rights are God-given.
Ron DeSantis believes they are given by Ron DeSantis - which is why he has no trouble taking them away if you don’t act, think, or look like him. https://t.co/piB8TrVRuH
— Charlie Crist (@CharlieCrist) November 6, 2022
"And on the eighth day," the ad begins, "God looked down on His planned Paradise and said, "I need a protector." So God made a fighter." This motif repeats throughout the video, which is just under two minutes in length. The target audience is most likely Evangelicals, which admittedly does have the potential to turn off some undecided voters.
Nonetheless, Twitter account DeSantis War Room rebukes Crist's response to this video with footage from a speech DeSantis gave in Miami, where he says that "in the American system, rights come from God, not from the government."
"In the American system, our rights come from God -- not from the government." - @RonDeSantisFL https://t.co/hWnHvsdOkf pic.twitter.com/bBmEH1m5sH
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 #GOTV (@DeSantisWarRoom) November 6, 2022
Regardless of what readers may think of DeSantis' video, it is certainly ironic of Crist to call him out for invoking religion in his campaign.
In September, Crist spoke at a campaign event in which he embraces the epithet "DeSatan" for DeSantis, while comparing himself to Christ.
As we covered, Crist says in the clip that "you know, some people call him "DeSatan."" In the audience, people can be heard seemingly agreeing with the epithet. "Have you heard that?" Crist asks. "That's one of the nicer ones!" A woman says. "Indeed it is," Crist replies. "I'm trying to be nice. DeSatan versus that," he points to his campaign sign behind him, pointing out the fact that his name is one letter away from "Christ," which the audience picks up on. "No, think about it!" Crist says.
