The Present Age

The Present Age

Share this post

The Present Age
The Present Age
I Knew the DeSantis Campaign Reminded Me of Something...
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More

I Knew the DeSantis Campaign Reminded Me of Something...

DeSantis and Cruz both went all-in on anti-trans politics in their presidential bids.

Parker Molloy's avatar
Parker Molloy
Jan 24, 2024
∙ Paid
68

Share this post

The Present Age
The Present Age
I Knew the DeSantis Campaign Reminded Me of Something...
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
9
5
Share

Hey all! Parker here.

I’d like to offer a big thanks to Assigned Media’s Evan Urquhart for contributing yesterday’s guest essay about Ron DeSantis, ambition, and bigotry. I loved it. If you missed it, please check it out here:

The Anti-Trans Crusade Was Supposed to Make DeSantis President. What Happens Now That He’s Gone?

Evan Urquhart
·
January 23, 2024
The Anti-Trans Crusade Was Supposed to Make DeSantis President. What Happens Now That He’s Gone?

Hey everyone, a quick note from Parker here. I’d planned to try to write something about Ron DeSantis dropping out of the presidential race, but I’ll be honest: anything that requires diving head-first into the anti-trans world (as most things involving DeSantis do, by necessity) takes a pretty massive toll on my mental health. That’s why I was grateful …

Read full story

When editing that piece, I was reminded that this was exactly how Ted Cruz’s 2016 campaign played out, as well.

Deep into the primary, Cruz needed what amounted to a miracle to overcome Trump. He decided to go all-in on arguing that Trump was insufficiently anti-trans. By this point, Trump had endorsed some wildly transphobic policies, many of which he would enact, so it was pretty goofy on Cruz’s part — as it was on DeSantis’s part — to think this would work.

For instance, this is what Cruz’s late-stage campaign rallies looked and sounded like:

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to The Present Age to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Parker Molloy
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share

Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More