https://www.wsj.com/articles/desantis-has-a-record-of-winning-florida-legislature-immigration-education-crime-55a32cb0?mod=opinion_lead_pos5
The media has settled on two narratives about Gov. Ron DeSantis, both designed to help nominate Donald Trump and thereby re-elect Joe Biden. The first narrative is that Mr. DeSantis is unlikable. The second is that he is an extremist who bans books, erases black history and persecutes immigrants and gay people.
The narrative that Mr. DeSantis is unlikable, and therefore unelectable, is an interesting critique for a politician who has never lost an election. Politico published a lengthy column in January titled “Ron DeSantis Takes On the Likability Issue (Sort Of).” In May it added a piece asserting his wife is just as unlikable, if not more so, portraying her as a kind of Lady Macbeth. Vanity Fair published a similar piece in May, with the headline “Being an Unlikable Jerk Not Working Out So Well for Ron DeSantis.” The Atlantic ran a lengthy piece on the topic last year, with the subhead: “People who haven’t met him think he’s a hot commodity. People who have met him aren’t so sure.”
At least since 2008, we’ve heard repeatedly that it’s sexist to assess likability in politicians. The Atlantic published a piece with the subheadline, “ ‘Electability.’ ‘Likability.’ ‘Authenticity.’ The 2020 Democratic primary has found many canny ways to make misogyny plausibly deniable.” In November 2022 Politico complained about “the return of the Lady Macbeth trope” and characterized criticism of Hillary Clinton, Jill Biden and Gisele Fetterman as “a reinforcement of traditional gender roles that make any ambitious woman suspect.” Apparently, questioning a candidate’s or spouse’s likability is misogyny if the target is a female Democrat but good sport if the target is a Republican.