In a Sunday op-ed for The Daily Beast, Executive Editor Katie Baker made waves with her assessment of Casey DeSantis, the First Lady of Florida, invoking the phrase "Walmart Melania.
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This striking comment came about due to Mrs. DeSantis' choice of attire - a black leather jacket with distinct iconography - during a campaign stop in Iowa.
The controversial jacket sported an alligator, a silhouette of the state of Florida, and the contentious phrase, "Where woke goes to die." Baker found the garment unsettling, likening it to the type of inexpensive clothing one might find in a Red State discount store. She writes, "The First Lady of Florida showed up on the campaign trail in Iowa this weekend wearing a ghastly black leather jacketAmerican flag on front, an alligator and the silhouette of her state on the back, with the sneering words, 'Where Woke Goes to Die'that brought to mind nothing so much as the racks of a Red State big-bin store where it would be retailing for $24.99."
Baker also drew parallels between this jacket and the infamous "I really don't care" jacket worn by former First Lady Melania Trump during her visit to migrant facilities in Texas. Baker says this attire mirrors Governor Ron DeSantis' political campaign - stark and upfront. She asserts, "Casey DeSantis' coat is just like her husband Ron DeSantis' campaign: Crude. Grasping. Saying the ugly part out loud."
She further suggests that Governor DeSantis is aggressively targeting President Trump's voter base, a notion visually embodied in his wife's jacket. The message was clear: "DeSantis' Florida is where the woke go to dieand a lot of other people die as well."
While this commentary was brewing, Politico published a story on Mrs. DeSantis, labeling her "his greatest asset and his greatest liability." Senior staff writer Michael Kruse noted the dichotomy of perspectives on her role, stating, "For some time now she's been seen mostly and by many as an absolute superstar of a political spouse For nearly as long, too, though, others who have worked with her or around her have nodded more quietly to the downsides of the starring part that she plays."
In Politico's piece, the sentiment of mistrust within the DeSantis inner circle was echoed by various unnamed sources, lending weight to the contrasting image of the First Lady of Florida.
In her fashion-focused critique, Baker suggested that Mrs. DeSantis fell short in her efforts to emulate style icons like Jacqueline Kennedy or Melania Trump. Instead, she derisively compared Mrs. DeSantis to Lady Macbeth, stating, "We've got a Sunshine State Lady Macbeth, in her green cape and white gloves, with her middling husband and her thirst for the crown."
In her final remarks, Baker differentiated between the fashion statements of Mrs. DeSantis and Melania Trump from those of Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden. In Baker's view, the latter two First Ladies used fashion to extend an olive branch rather than a battle cry. She writes, "Those First Ladies have used fashion not as a punitive tool to stick it to political enemiesnor as a bored, nihilistic shrugbut as something generous and welcoming."
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