that these indictments are
helping him which is why he
focused so much on them when he
does take the stage.
>> He's also doing a little bit
more retail campaigns than he's
done in past campaigns.
He took a stop at dairy queen
and had this moment.
>> Everybody wants a blizzard.
What the hell is a blizzard?
What is a blizzard?
And take care of the people,
okay.
Will you take care of them for
me.
We'll do the blizzard thing, all
right.
>> I mean.
For trump that is sort of like
par for the course.
But for any other candidate,
that would be a -- I'm not sure
that is a great moment.
>> The guy who served McDonald's
to a football team at the white
house.
>> He doesn't know what a
blizzard is, though.
>> Showing pictures of himself
eating happy meals on an
airplane.
But that is him doing his thing
and be every man in the dairy
queen and I Doan think voters
care.
I think we might play the clip
but it gives you a sense of his
standing.
He could go to a rally but he
didn't do these things when he
ran there 2016.
He didn't do much retail
politics and now he's
comfortable going into these
places.
People in Iowa, as much as he
hasn't been there, they like
attention.
Almost as much as Donald Trump
does.
That is what Earl why I state
voters are used to.
So he has to give them some of
that.
Whether he shows up on the
debate stage and do the
side-by-side contrast, unclear.
Doesn't seem like he does right
now or that he needs to based on
the polling.
But he is doing a little more
sort of showing up at some of
the places and doing the --
>> And he knows one of the
weaknesses for Ron Desantis, it
is a jab at Desantis.
And it is interesting you see
him using Casey Desantis, his
wife to soften his image and
make him more personalable and
likeable and a young governor
and a family man and also a
contrast to Donald Trump and his
family and marriage life.
So they are trying to use her in
that way.
But we'll see if that works.
>> So speaking of which, Casey
Desantis did a couple of things
this week.
She launched a pac for mommas
for Desantis.
And also launched this video
here of her kind of making this
case really the culture war case
from the women voters' side of
things.
Watch.
>> We've been forced into
silence.
[ Crying ]
Into compliance.
>> Keep your mask on.
>> Told that we must trust the
science.
>> Indoor and outdoor venues
should be closed.
>> We've been told that we must
deny truth, back down and look
the other way.
We need every mama and every
grandmother in the country to
stand up and fight back.
>> So tia, what strikes me about
this, to be honest, is this is
not a kind of like rainbows and
butterflies and flowers message.
This is a little on the dark
side.
It is very kind of pointed and
tough.
That is not typically what you
see from the spouses.
>> Right.
And I think that she's trying to
walk the fine line of saying,
you know, this is about
empowering parents and we know
moms care about their kids and
care about their kids'
education, I think that is also
softening it a little bit by
adding the grandma references as
well.
But there is a chance, if it
starts being interpreted as a
safe spot in the campaign for
example for the moms for liberty
and things like that, that are
more blatantly embracing the
culture wars in ways that she
kind of stopped short of doing,
I think that is where the risk
comes.
Because we know that the culture
wars will perhaps have a
Republican base in a primary,
but they may not play as well in
a general election.
>> And even leaning heavily in
this covid message is an
interesting choice.
Dave zweigle wrote this and I
thought it was smart.
The Fauci dystopia that Desantis
talked about never came to
Dubuque, in Iowa and Nashua and
New Hampshire and another reason
for the fade, stay-at-home
orders and vaccinations were the
least controversial among olders
voters who are the most likely
to show up for Republican
primaries in both Iowa and in
New Hampshire.
95% of retirement age voters got
vaccinated.
A majority received booster
shots.
So this anti-covid message is
dated.
>> It is not in the moment as
much as it was and that shows
that we never know what
campaigns are about in the end.
In the beginning they were about
covid but I think that is a very
good point.
And when the governor is
campaigning on this, it does
seem like a long time ago.
And there is not that much
difference between the
Republican rivals on the message
of covid.
He's trying to draw distinctions
from the former president on his
use of covid initially.
But that also seems a very long
time ago.
We're going to start to see,
we're told, some policy
subpoenas from the Florida
governor, he's going to try to
have I more forward looking
message to draw a distinction
with the former president.
And try to break out.
But the covid message, it seems
like ancient history.
>> You're not going to take down
trump with a covid message.
I get why he's leaning into it.
It is what made him popular back
in 2020.
So he's trying to tap into that.
But it is outdated and he has to
have something else to come at
trump with.
>> And it is interesting, you
rarely see the spouse on the
trail as the featured act on the
campaign trail, the principal
this early and which tells you
about Desantis' own liability in
connecting with voters and with
women.
He's at 30% with women in
Florida.
And you could talk about how
he's leverages transgender
issues and wanted to say
standing up for young girls in
terms of playing sports, but
there are other things that are
concerning to women and I don't
know this they will be a sharp
contrast in a Republican primary
but when you have a six-week
abortion ban and a law that he
just enacted relating to
changing it for alimony, marking
it harder for women and there is
a reason his standing is low in
Florida and she's trying to
improve that in the prime and it
makes sense that Republicans
have hemorrhaged women voters
since 2016.
But it is kind of a tight rope.
>> And so, Jeff, before we go, I
wan to get your take on this and
this is about Iowa which seems
to be where Desantis is putting
up the biggest fight.
They're battled for the Iowa
voters and the governor, Kim
Reynolds who was with Casey
Desantis at her hollow event
this week.
What do you make of whether Kim
Reynolds is really as neutral as
she said that she is.
>> By neutral it means she's not
likely to endorse.
But she's been open about saying
that she would like a governor
or a former governor.
She believes governors and
former governors make better
presidents.
Translation, she believes that
it is time for the party to move
on from Donald Trump.
She was not at trump event on
Friday.
She's been with every other
candidate.
She's still very supportive of
him, obviously.
But I think this is really
interesting to watch as she has
a strong connection with the
desantises and tipping the scale
for other candidates as well.
So she's embracing the fact that
a lot of Republicans are open to
turning the page and talking
about the future here.
But this will wrangle trump.
>> And it is just as interesting
that the trump campaign is
worried about this to the extent
that they are.
>> A popular figure in Iowa
without question.
But she's calling the special
session to talk about abortion
this week on Tuesday to get a