A left-wing news site published a photo Monday that purportedly shows Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis partying with students when he was a teacher at a Georgia boarding school.
SO WHAT
DeSantis’ heir-apparent to Donald Trump status has made him an attractive target for liberals and the media.
WHAT HAPPENED
Conservative commentator Stephen Miller and others on the right reacted to the Hill Reporter’s publication of the photo, which shows DeSantis surrounded by young women, by wondering what all the fuss was about.
“Absolute hero,” Miller tweeted.
- According to the Hill Reporter, the photo shows DeSantis “with underage girls” from the Darlington School at a “drinking party.”
- “The only scandal here is his haircut,” quipped former National Rifle Association spokeswoman Dana Loesch, referencing DeSantis’ “Caesar cut” hairdo.
- Other commenters highlighted the flimsiness of the Hill Reporter’s reporting, noting that the outlet was merely speculating as to whether the girls were underage or whether there was any alcohol at the party.
THE REPORT
The Hill Reporter cited an anonymous source who claimed the photograph was taken sometime in 2001, after DeSantis graduated from Yale University and before he entered Harvard Law School.
- According to the “whistleblower,” DeSantis had a “reputation among students for being a young ‘hot teacher’ who girls loved.”
- The Hill Reporter acknowledged that it is not clear whether the Darlington students were legal adults, but the source said they were seniors and that the picture was taken before they graduated.
- “Though DeSantis would have been only about five years older than some high school seniors, the five years between a high schooler and a college graduate denote a significant experience gap, especially alongside the fact that DeSantis would have been in a position of authority over the students,” The Hill Reporter’s Steph Bazzle wrote.
SAME ENERGY
In July 2019, NBC News resurfaced a video of Trump partying with Jeffrey Epstein and young women at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago estate in 1992. It didn’t exactly have the intended effect among Trump’s supporters:
