Within the warmth of the pre-Iowa caucus frenzy, Scott Wagner, the newly appointed CEO of ‘Never Back Down,’ an excellent PAC supporting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, was discovered partaking in an exercise that has raised eyebrows amongst marketing campaign employees and political commentators alike.
As a substitute of last-minute strategizing, Wagner devoted his workplace hours to assembling a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle, the NBC News reported.
With the Iowa caucuses lower than every week away, inner turmoil shook the DeSantis marketing campaign as chief strategist Jeff Roe introduced his departure.
Roe, the highest adviser to By no means Again Down, took to social media platform X with a brief however profound message, “Good luck the next 28 days and a wake up. I’m so sorry I can’t be there with you,” seemingly indicating a sudden and unplanned exit.
I can’t imagine it ended this manner. I’m so proud to have labored alongside these women and men at NBD 24/7 the previous 9 months to avoid wasting the nation. Good luck the following 28 days and a get up. I’m so sorry I can’t be there with you. pic.twitter.com/Rh4oQQ1tAE
— Jeff Roe (@jeffroe) December 17, 2023
Because the DeSantis group rallied to regain footing with out their strategic chief, a photograph taken on January 9 and shared with NBC Information depicted a stark distinction inside the PAC’s headquarters.
Employees members appeared diligently centered on their screens whereas Scott Wagner, the top of the tremendous PAC, was busy puzzling collectively a panorama scene, piece by piece.
It may be recalled Scott Wagner was named as interim CEO final December after the By no means Again Down tremendous PAC fired interim chief govt officer Kristin Davison after she was on the job for less than 9 days.
A staffer, talking anonymously to NBC Information, stated, “Staffers are putting their dedication and devotion to electing Gov. DeSantis, and they come in and the CEO, the chairman of the organization, is sitting there working on a puzzle for hours.”
One other staffer commented on the period of time Wagner devoted to the puzzle.
The scene struck a chord of discord and mismanagement inside a marketing campaign that needs to be operating at full capability.
In his protection, Wagner advised NBC Information that the puzzle was already within the workplace after they arrived and had develop into a team-building train. He praised the dedication and exhausting work of his group in Iowa, underlining their relentless efforts in hostile climate circumstances.
“It became a sense of pride for the entire team and everyone chipped in a few minutes a piece to get it done,” he stated.
“I could not be more proud of every person in our Iowa office. I came out to work with our Iowa team and our incredible COO Jordan Wiggins in person for the final two week push in Iowa and I came away with a group of people I would go to war with any time, anywhere. We worked non-stop together on operations in terrible weather conditions.”
“The operation worked nearly 24/7 throughout for the Gov and was absolutely seamless. I am so proud of what we achieved in Iowa and will achieve beyond.”
DeSantis completed second within the Iowa caucuses, trailing considerably behind former President Donald Trump.
The hole of 30 proportion factors and Trump’s substantial lead have led to a wave of frustration and accusations from DeSantis’s camp.
Andrew Romeo, Ron DeSantis’s communications director, made a hanging assertion, accusing the media of election interference.
“Absolutely outrageous that the media would participate in election interference by calling the race before tens of thousands of Iowans even had a chance to vote. The media is in the tank for Trump and this is the most egregious example yet,” Romeo wrote.
Ron’s marketing campaign supervisor, James Uthmeier, expressed frustration in an interview that the race was declared whereas voting was nonetheless underway.
