On the day his presidential campaign said it had laid off more than a third of its staff to address worries about unsustainable spending, Gov.
The choice was a routine one — Mr. DeSantis and his wife, Casey, haven’t regularly flown commercial for years — but also symbolic to close observers of his struggling presidential campaign.
As Mr. DeSantis promises a reset, setting out on Thursday on a bus tour in Iowa to show off a leaner, hungrier operation, several donors and allies remained skeptical about whether the governor could right the ship.
Their bleak outlook reflects a deep mistrust plaguing the highest levels of the DeSantis campaign, as well as its supporters and the well-funded super PAC, Never Back Down, bolstering his presidential ambitions.
Publicly, the parties are projecting a stoic sunniness about Mr. DeSantis, even as he has sunk dangerously close to third place in some recent polls.
Persons:
Ron DeSantis, DeSantis, Casey, haven’t
Organizations:
Gov, Publicly
Locations:
Florida, Chattanooga, Tenn, Iowa