To some, he is “Ron DeSoros,” a puppet of Democratic mega-donor George Soros. To others, he is “Ron DeSatan,” a vaccine-supporting culprit. And to still others he is “Ron DePLANTis”, a “plant” of the so-called Deep State.
As Florida Governor — real name Ron DeSantis — examines a bid for the Republican presidential nomination, he has been reaching out to supporters of former President Donald J. Trump. But he’s discovering that the conspiracy theories and outlandish attacks that Mr. Trump and his allies have targeted rivals for years are getting to him, too.
The attacks often refer to one of the many baseless conspiracy theories floating in far-right circles: election fraud, vaccine dangers, Mr. Soros and even QAnon, the online conspiracy movement that believes, among other things, in the existence of a fictional cult preying on children.
The attacks underscore the power that conspiracy theories continue to hold over Republican politics leading up to the 2024 presidential election. To win the party’s nomination, Mr. DeSantis would likely need support from a Republican base that includes many of the attacks against him. And while Mr. DeSantis enjoys broad support among Republicans, who surged to reelection victory just six months ago, the latest primaries show that Mr. Trump has a significant lead.
“It’s a tug of war over who’s going to grab the all-important conspiracy constituency,” said Bond Benton, an associate professor at Montclair State University who has studied QAnon.
The demeaning nicknames for Mr. DeSantis have spread widely on conservative social media, and this year they grew as attacks against Mr. Trump increased. According to Zignal Labs, a media insights company, there have been more than 12,000 mentions of “DeSoros” on social media and news sites since January. “DeathSantis,” a term progressively used as the governor began easing Florida’s Covid-19 restrictions, which has since been adopted by some conservatives, has garnered 1.6 million mentions in the past two years.
In recent months, Mr. DeSantis has responded by taking on a number of themes popular among the conspiratorial series, opposing vaccines he once endorsed and casting doubt on the 2020 election, though Mr. Florida won on the vote.
Mr. DeSantis’ office did not respond to requests for comment.
The attacks come from some of the loudest voices in Mr. Trump’s corner.
Mike Lindell, the director of MyPillow and an election denier, quickly found a role for Mr. DeSantis in his extensive election fraud story. Mr. Lindell falsely said Florida was spared widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election because Mr. DeSantis had a close relationship with Dominion Voting Systems, an election software company targeted by election deniers.
“Ron DeSantis is a Trojan horse,” Mr. Lindell said in a recent interview with The New York Times.
Mr. Lindell pointed to an appearance by Mr. DeSantis with a Dominion attorney shortly after the election as a sign that the governor had conflicting loyalties.
The attorney, Elizabeth Locke, spoke to Mr. DeSantis on a panel about the dangers of defamation by the mainstream media. She also represented Sarah Palin, the former Republican vice presidential nominee.
There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election anywhere, and no evidence that Mr. DeSantis had any special relationship with Dominion.
In an email, Ms Locke pointed to a podcast appearance where she called the allegations “silly” and said she knew Mr DeSantis before he entered politics.
Kari Lake, a Republican who lost her campaign for governor of Arizona last year, once praised Mr. DeSantis on the campaign trail. But in February, as Mr. Trump’s attacks mounted, she shared a story claiming that Mr. DeSantis was endorsed by Mr. Soros, calling it “the kiss of death.” (Mr. Soros had only said that Mr. DeSantis would likely be the nominee.)
“The broader story is that he is connected to the shadowy forces trying to take down Trump,” said Bond, the Montclair professor.
Mr. DeSantis was forced to catch up and made broad appeals to conspiratorial factions within the Republican Party.
Last year, he announced a crackdown on voter fraud and arrested 17 people on charges of casting illegal votes in 2020. Many of the voters had received voter registration cards from the government.
Mr. DeSantis had once endorsed and celebrated covid-19 vaccines when Floridians were quickly vaccinated. Late last year, however, he had assembled a statewide grand jury to investigate vaccine makers for potentially misleading Floridians, reflecting a false belief among Trump supporters that the vaccine is dangerous.
Believers of the QAnon conspiracy theory seem unaffected by Mr. DeSantis’ calls, said Josephine Lukito, a University of Texas media professor who studies the relationship between disinformation and violence. “To them, that’s more indicative of what a fake they see DeSantis.”
