Bill Kristol Irked By DeSantis Statement Thanking Well Wishers After Car Crash: ‘I’m Glad He’s Fine, But…’

The Bulwark’s Bill Kristol expressed his displeasure with a statement from Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis after he was involved in a a car crash on Tuesday.

After DeSantis’s press secretary Bryan Griffin issued a statement noting that the governor and his staff appreciated “the prayers and well wishes of the nation for his continued protection on the campaign trail,” Kristol decided to weigh in on the accident, in which neither DeSantis nor his staff were injured.

“I’m glad he’s fine, but the ‘We appreciate the prayers and well wishes of the nation for his continued protection while on the campaign trail’ is so grandiosely and self-importantly and pretending-he’s-engaged-in-a-dangerous-enterprise on brand,” tweeted the frustrated commentator, who also serves on the board of directors at Defending Democracy Together, a 501(c)(4) funded by progressive donor Pierre Omidyar of which The Bulwark was once a project.

I’m glad he’s fine, but the “We appreciate the prayers and well wishes of the nation for his continued protection while on the campaign trail” is so grandiosely and self-importantly and pretending-he’s-engaged-in-a-dangerous-enterprise on brand. https://t.co/qxalj3sLzQ

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) July 25, 2023

Despite leaving the Republican Party over its relationship with former president Donald Trump and even seeking out a third-party challenger to Trump in 2016, Kristol recently praised Trump for his “alpha” behavior, comparing him favorably to DeSantis.

“I tend (perhaps foolishly) to discount the Alpha/Beta Male stuff. But: DeSantis was always on Fox when Rupert was for him. Now he announces on Twitter when Elon’s for him. Kind of Beta, no? Trump does CNN town hall, goes into the (pseudo-) lion’s den. Looks kind of Alpha, no?” tweeted Kristol in May.

I tend (perhaps foolishly) to discount the Alpha/Beta Male stuff.

But:

DeSantis was always on Fox when Rupert was for him. Now he announces on Twitter when Elon’s for him. Kind of Beta, no?

Trump does CNN town hall, goes into the (pseudo-) lion’s den. Looks kind of Alpha, no?

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) May 23, 2023

“DeSantis is so much worse a demagogue than Trump,” he argued in another tweet last month.