Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday provided another example of why the media’s credibility is in the gutter.
The media elite held a red-carpet soiree on Saturday, as the White House Correspondents’ Association gathered for its annual black-tie banquet with President Joe Biden as guest of honor. It was a change from years past, as former President Donald Trump had purposefully bypassed the event over his hostile treatment by the media.
While high-profile media personalities mingled with Hollywood celebs, one person seemed to be a surprise entry on the guestlist – DeSantis.
The official program for the dinner showed DeSantis in attendance, and ultrawoke host Trevor Noah attempted some jokes at his expense. Noah opened his anti-DeSantis riff by saying, “One of my favorites, Ron DeSantis is here. Yeah, yeah. Oh man, I’m actually surprised that he found the time. He’s been so busy trying to outmaneuver Trump for 2024. I see you, Ron. I see you, player.”
Yet, alas, the White House press corps botched another one. DeSantis was not there.
The governor’s spokeswoman, Christina Pushaw, tweeted about the flub late Saturday night.
“Why are people saying Governor DeSantis is at the White House Correspondents Dinner!?” she posted with a laughing emoji. “Because DC Democrats and media (but I repeat myself) can’t stop talking about him even during their nerd prom?”
“He was not there and never planned to be there. This is wishful thinking/obsession,” she added, including a photo of the guest list that had DeSantis sandwiched between Kristen DelGuzzi of USA Today and Danielle Desrochers of the McClatchy News Service.
When the matter was still an issue on Monday, Pushaw addressed it again: “Nobody is complaining about Trevor Noah’s jokes,” she tweeted. “The problem is the media pointing to Noah’s comments claiming that Governor DeSantis attended the event when he certainly did not attend.”
The governor himself then set the record straight, when asked about Noah’s jokes on Monday.
“I would never attend that,” DeSantis said. “I have no interest in that. I did not watch it. I don’t care what they do.”
“But for them to advertise me, when that invitation was rejected by my office, that is a lie.”
“And so here they are, saying how important they are, that they’re somehow these paragons of truth, and yet there they are lying about something that is readily verifiable,” added Desantis.
“The idea that I was there is false; the idea that I would have ever gone is false. And why they would want to perpetuate a lie about that, I don’t know.
He concluded, “But I think it just shows you why that cabal of people in DC [and] New York are so reviled by so many Americans. I think it’s a reputation that’s been well deserved.”
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