DeSantis claps back to MSNBC host labeling wife Casey ‘America’s Karen’

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis defended his wife, Casey, Monday after left-wing commentators tastelessly dubbed her “America’s Karen” over the weekend.

“My wife is an incredibly strong first lady of Florida, a fantastic mother and a great wife, and that threatens the left,” DeSantis, 44, told Fox Business Network’s “Varney & Co.”

Over the weekend, MSNBC analyst David Jolly, a former Republican congressman from Florida, hurled the “Karen” epithet at the breast cancer survivor and mom of three during a segment on the channel’s “Saturday Show with Jonathan Capehart.”

“Casey DeSantis is a fairly compelling political figure in Florida, and now nationally. For many, she’s the brighter side to Florida’s angry governor. For others, she’s become America’s Karen,” Jolly said during the segment, drawing chuckles from his fellow panelists.

The name “Karen” has been increasingly used in recent years as slang for a white woman who acts prickly and entitled.

Casey DeSantis launched the “Mamas for DeSantis” initiative in Iowa last week, debuting the new endeavor with a fiery and defiant video portraying her husband as a fighter.

Her message harped on many of the same issues that her husband has championed while governor, such as parental rights in the classroom.

“She’s a great advocate for families, a great advocate for children. And I’m thankful that she’s my wife,” Ron DeSantis said Monday. “And I’m really honored that she’s willing to go out there and press the case. And so we wear criticism from MSNBC as a badge of honor.”

The 2024 Republican contender suggested the onslaught against his wife stemmed from liberal fears that her message of parental empowerment would resonate with voters.

“She and I kind of shrug it off because we know it just shows they view her as a threat, because the message that she was bringing in Iowa about the rights of parents and how we are not going to take this anymore with the left trying to indoctrinate our kids, they understand that that resonates not just with Republican parents, with independent parents and, yes, with Democrat parents,” he continued.

The Florida governor is widely considered the chief rival to Donald Trump in the 2024 GOP contest, but still trails him by 32.1 points in the latest RealClearPolitics average.

During the same interview, DeSantis shrugged off the polling gap, stressing that he’s the “one that’s targeted by the media” due to fears he can beat President Biden.

““I think it’s pretty clear that the media does not want me to be the candidate,” he said. “I think they have tried to create a narrative that somehow the race is over. This is going to be a state-by-state contest. We have worked really hard to build the type of organization in places like Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina that you need to actually be able to win these early contests. And we are going to continue doing that. We have got a lot of work, but we have had a very, very favorable response and we’re going to keep building off that momentum.”