DeSantis advisors are urging him to 'show emotion' when talking about his family at the first GOP debate, leaked memo reveals
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- A memo from a consulting firm unofficially tied to Ron DeSantis' campaign leaked on Thursday.
- In it, his advisers lay out several possible ways the governor could try to stage a viral moment.
- One of them is "showing emotion" when discussing his kids, family, or wife.
In a strategy memo drafted by outside advisors helping to boost Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign, the Florida Governor is being urged to show a more personal touch at the upcoming Republican debate on August 23.
The memo, the existence of which was first revealed by the New York Times, lays out several potential ways in which DeSantis could stage a viral breakout moment at the debate. The memo refers to them as "Orchestra Pit" moments, invoking a famous quote from the late Fox News CEO Roger Ailes.
"You have two guys on stage and one guy says, I have a solution to the Middle East problem, and the other guy falls in the orchestra pit," the Ailes quote reads. "Who do you think is going to be on the evening news?"
Among the four possible viral moments — which include attacking fellow GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and defending former President Donald Trump from an attack by Chris Christie — is the potential for DeSantis to get emotional while talking about his family.
"Invoke a personal anecdote story about family, kids, Casey, showing emotion," the memo reads.
The DeSantis campaign did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
The suggestion that DeSantis show "emotion" comes after months of scrutiny on DeSantis' relatively awkward manner on the campaign trail.
Clips of the governor's awkward interactions with voters have gone viral, former House Republican colleagues have detailed his unwillingness to engage in social niceties, and the Washington Post recently reported that a former congresswoman was once completely ignored by DeSantis when she attempted to speak to him at an airport.
The memo was originally drafted by the political consulting firm Axiom Strategies, which works for the Never Back Down super PAC associated with DeSantis' campaign.
Because the super PAC and official campaign are legally barred from directly communicating with one another under federal campaign finances rules, the memo was posted publicly on the firm's website for a period of time, with the intention that DeSantis' campaign would know where to look.
Since the Times reported on the memo, it's been removed from Axiom's site, but is still available via the Times' website.