Because of the clothes? Ron DeSantis crashed strike in Hollywood? The deadline for agreement in the American acting industry has passed

Politics is show business for ugly people, cynics love to mock. Ron DeSantis wouldn’t exactly be described as ugly – maybe a little overweight – but he desperately needs a style consultant. “DeSantis has a problem, and it’s visual,” said Robert Armstrong, columnist for the Financial Times. “An important part of this problem is the way he dresses.”

Gottfried Keller already knew that clothes make the man. However, with DeSantis, it’s unclear what kind of personality he wants to portray. His clothes “almost never send a message, and if they do, then the wrong one,” says Armstrong.

In fact, it’s hard to decipher Florida governor’s clothing messages. For example, after last April’s heavy floods, he appeared in white boots – and this look made him the laughingstock of the comedians.

Or he wants to present himself as a tough macho in jeans and cowboy boots. The combination with a fleece vest, a sleeveless men’s vest, is not optimal. Wall Street bankers and billionaires especially like to show themselves in these clothes.

Donald Trump is also a catastrophe from a fashion point of view, you might argue. His always the same blue suit, usually a few sizes too big to hide his overweight, in combination with the obligatory, much too long red tie also makes the hair of every style advisor stand on end. That’s right, but Trump’s outlandish clothing is very well received by his supporters because it sends a clear message: This is exactly how Johnny Sixpack envisions a billionaire.

“Clothing becomes an identity issue,” Armstrong continues. “DeSantis must finally feel comfortable in his own skin and radiate that.” That should not be the case anytime soon. The governor’s confused choice of clothing reflects his confused strategy.

On the one hand, DeSantis wants to be a “Trump with a brain,” a strategy described by many political observers as mindless. “Who wants a copy when you can get the original?” is the legitimate objection. Moreover, Johnny Sixpack worships Trump precisely because he has no brains.

DeSantis has now also realized that the Trump-with-brain scam does not work. Therefore, he began to catch up with his former mentor on the right. He recently aired a more than stupid election video in which he accused the ex-president of being too sympathetic to the LGBTQ+ community and not being firm enough on the abortion issue. This video also shook heads on the political scene and caused confusion among voters.

DeSantis wants to win over both moderate Republicans and independent voters by portraying himself as Trump without any clutter. At the same time, he wants to convince the Trump base that he will take even harder action against the alleged waking madness than the ex-president. This combination is as contradictory as jeans with a fleece vest.

Speaking of waking madness, DeSantis has cornered himself with his idiotic feud with Disney Corporation. Everyone, even conservatives, love Mickey Mouse, and taking on your state’s biggest employer is rarely a good idea.

The majority of voters drove DeSantis away with an overly strict Florida abortion law. He alienated many moderate voters by allowing immigrants to fly to Martha’s Vineyard at taxpayer expense. In addition, he has no charisma. He’s just an asshole, even his party friends say behind closed doors.

As a result of all this, Ron DeSanti’s soaring flight has at least slowed down and may even have come to an end. Where he was still at eye level with Trump in various polls in the spring, he is now about 30 percentage points behind the ex-president. Even in Florida, the difference is about 20 percentage points. What has to hurt DeSantis in particular: in some polls, he is now even overtaken by Vivek Ramaswamy, the largely unknown hedge fund manager and ultra-Trumpist.

In addition, the Murdoch media has sharply scaled back its more or less overt support for DeSantis. Even Fox News is increasingly supporting Trump, advising the Florida governor to try again in 2028. At 44 years old, he still has plenty of time.

Meanwhile, the crash in the polls can no longer be covered up. Unsurprisingly, DeSantis himself blames the media. However, his spokesman Steve Cortes admits: “To be honest, I have to admit it will be a steep path. We are way behind in the national polls.”

To get back on an equal footing with Trump, DeSantis relies on two women: Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and his wife. Reynolds is very popular in Iowa and she likes DeSantis. Iowa is especially important as it hosts the first primaries. Whoever wins the primaries there often lays the foundation for a later victory in the internal party decision. At least that’s the case for Republicans. The Democrats recently voted for South Carolina.

Wife Casey DeSantis is ready to help solve her husband’s apparent “sympathetic” problem. The former TV presenter is therefore increasingly seen at election events at the side of her husband. “It’s his main weapon,” notes the New York Times. “But, depending on your point of view, also its greatest handicap.”

Casey DeSantis isn’t even popular with her husband’s campaign team. It is said that he only listens to her and that the two would lock themselves in their own world. On the other hand, however, the woman has very good connections with the Moms for Liberty, a lobby group of conservative women that has gained great influence in the Grand Old Party.

“DeSantis is poised to have the best chance of becoming the most successful co-leader in American politics,” Edward Luce noted in the Financial Times. In any case, the governor from Florida should quickly get his outfit under control.