(PM.) Senior Ron DeSantis campaign aides reportedly oversaw an operation to send meme campaign videos produced by staff members to anonymous Twitter accounts allied with the Florida governor’s presidential campaign, a new report from Semafor has revealed.
The videos, which include an anti-Trump one featuring the Sonnenrad, a symbol associated with Nazi Germany, and another attacking Trump for previous comments supportive of LGBTQ rights, emerged from a Signal channel called “War Room Creative Ideas.” Screenshots of the channel were shared with the outlet and their authenticity confirmed by a second source familiar with the campaign.
One screenshot showed staffers praising the since-deleted video that displayed the Sonnenrad that was widely criticized, which featured a character looking on in dismay at Trump policies, and becoming overjoyed when DeSantis appears in a door, all playing out while Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill plays in the background.
The @desantiscams account just deleted this video after at least one campaign staffer RT’d it. I wonder if this was also made in-house. pic.twitter.com/JA1D9qqONF
— Luke Thompson (@ltthompso) July 23, 2023
“This belongs in the Smithsonian,” wrote former campaign director of research and data Kyle Lamb, who was one of 38 staffers laid off in recent weeks during a campaign reset.
Photo Credit: Semafor
