Ron DeSantis is driving his critics nuts.

Not nuts as in upset. But nuts as in totally deranged and driven to lie.

We all know how ridiculous some of the Trumpworld criticisms are. Laura Loomer has been trying to get a rise out of DeSantis by suggesting that wearing cowboy boots shows his preference for wearing women’s high heels, along with her other silly attacks on the governor. Not sure that attacking southerners for wearing cowboy boots is a serious political strategy.

Wait. I thought Florida is where “woke goes to die” and that the Governor was against cross dressing? pic.twitter.com/i9L0K3et89

— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) March 7, 2023

I know, but why is he trying to overcompensate for his height?

Is it because in the modern post TV era, we have never had a President under 6 Ft fall, and without his high heel boots, DeSantis is 5 foot 10?

Trump is going to call him “Tiny D” and it’s going to be GAME OVER.🤣 https://t.co/VWyivpLEOX

— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) March 7, 2023

But Loomer’s looniness and Trump’s impotent attacks are nothing compared to DeSantis’ real opponents: the MSM. DeSantis can afford to ignore Trump for the moment because, unlike Trump, he is actually accomplishing things.

Things that the media hate, and for that, they are determined to destroy him.

Trump mastered the art of attacking the media, but DeSantis’ team is mastering the art of exposing them for the hacks they are. Trump and the media fought to a standstill, each hurling accusations at the other while neither scoring points beyond their respective bases.

DeSantis’ team is bringing the fight to where it might hurt the media with non-Republicans: actually proving what liars they are. Because the media actually has to interact with the governor in order to cover him, not just do “reports,” the governor’s team is able to collect the receipts for what is done behind the scenes.

It’s glorious.

One great example, out of many, was provided by Brian Griffin, DeSantis’ press secretary.

The backstory: John Oliver did a ridiculous and ineffective hit piece on DeSantis during his pathetic TV show, and the L.A. Times decided to cover it. I have no problem with that. It is the bread and butter of political reporting, although the effects are evanescent.

They sought a comment from the governor’s staff and got one they didn’t like. So they pretended not to have gotten one at all, claiming that they reached out but nobody replied.

Not true.

"DeSantis’ office did not immediately respond Monday to the Los Angeles Times’ request for comment."

Yes, I did. Within an hour. Why wasn't my comment included in the article? @latimes @christicarras https://t.co/RO5b1ahgz3 pic.twitter.com/WI8bpCf3bu

— Bryan Griffin (@BryanDGriffin) March 7, 2023

That, my friends, is indeed a comment, and a devastating one at that. Rather amusing, at least to conservatives who eat this stuff up. Short, to the point, and totally dismissive. A thing of beauty in 4 words.

The L.A. Times didn’t like it though, because they would have nothing to hang their hat on. Worse, it dismissed an ally of theirs. So they lied. And Griffin has the receipts.

It’s a pattern they have been repeating for a while, exposing their interactions with the media.

Washington Post: “Please call us on background so you can leak to us. We will weaponize anything you tell us in our ongoing campaign to smear and defame your boss.”

Team DeSantis: “No”

See it’s that easy. https://t.co/HuWap9wH5c

— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) March 7, 2023

The media hates it because their M.O. is to fish for things they can use or distort and pretend they are doing straight reporting. It has been years, decades, or perhaps never has been the case that reporters try to avoid partisanship in real life, but the pattern of partisan slander has gotten much worse of late.

The MSM has been crying that DeSantis won’t talk to reporters, but that isn’t really accurate either. He talks with local reporters all the time, generally focusing on Florida issues that matter to his constituents. He is simply avoiding the backbiting of the national media who have made it their goal to destroy him by lying about him.

America, here's @CBSMMiller lying to your face on @CBS with zero accountability from her cohosts or the network. No book in Florida is "banned statewide," and no book would be permissibly removed from a classroom for "having a black character."

They want you to be misinformed. https://t.co/PF9IMN5WFk

— Bryan Griffin (@BryanDGriffin) February 25, 2023

We saw this pattern repeated time and again, especially with the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which is still routinely called that in the national media despite it being a total distortion. Such a large distortion that it qualifies as a lie. They do this with every issue, adopting the language of DeSantis’ critics to create a totally false narrative.

You guys really just can't help yourselves, can you?

You're using your "news" site to push Democrat political lies to rig the 2024 election against a potential contender already. Shameful.https://t.co/3E3ZX49Mvm

— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) February 28, 2023

What makes DeSantis’ attacks on the media effective is that it has the potential to penetrate the minds of independents, not just his supporters. Trump’s “fake news” attacks crystalized conservative opposition to the media’s narratives but became less effective the farther a person’s ideology departed from Trump’s. I’m not downplaying how important the attacks were in galvanizing distrust of the media among Republicans. I am just skeptical that they penetrated far enough into the minds of Independents.

DeSantis’ strategy takes it up a notch, actually showing examples of lies and distortions that are undeniable. Calling somebody a liar is not as effective as proving they are.

It’s fun to watch in real-time, and it certainly is getting inside the heads of some reporters.

Good.

Thus far we've gotten:
– Genghis Khan
– Mussolini
– Stalin
– Hitler

Really blowing their load here before he's even declared. https://t.co/F1wlh7Hw23

— Noam Blum (@neontaster) March 7, 2023