The ad begins with a soundbite of Trump addressing the Republican National Convention in 2016, in which he says, "I will do everything in my power to protect LGBTQ+ citizens." The quote was part of Trump's response to the Pulse Nightclub shooting, which happened in Florida, where DeSantis serves as governor.

The ad also criticized Trump for his friendship with former Olympic athlete Caitlyn Jenner. Jenner responded to the ad on Twitter, saying, "DeSantis has hit a new low. But he's so desperate he'll do anything to get ahead — that's been the theme of his campaign."

Criticism from all sides
The latest campaign ad has since gone viral online. While many critics are talking about its celebration of DeSantis's recent attacks on LGBTQ+ communities in Florida, others have noted the sheer oddness in the combination of clips and music.

"I'm going to leave aside the strangeness of trying to prove your manhood by putting up a video that splices images of you in between images of oiled-up, shirtless body-builders," US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, who is openly Gay, said. "I just don't understand the mentality of someone who gets up in the morning thinking that he's gonna prove his worth by competing over who can make life hardest for a hard-hit community that's already so vulnerable in America."

Republicans are also speaking out against the ad. Fellow GOP candidate Chris Christie, who is currently bringing up the rear in national polls, commented on the ad, saying, "I'm not comfortable with it, and I'm not comfortable with the way both Gov. DeSantis and Donald Trump are moving the debate in our country."

Log Cabin Republicans, a group of conservative LGBTQ+ voters, also issued a statement condemning the ad. "Ron DeSantis' extreme rhetoric has just expanded into homophobic territory," the group wrote after the video was released on Twitter.

DeSantis fights back
Despite negative feedback from Democrats and Republicans, DeSantis's team voiced support for the ad. In a response to the Log Cabin Republicans, Christina Pushaw, a spokesperson for the DeSantis campaign, claimed, "Opposing the federal recognition of 'Pride Month' isn't 'homophobic.' We wouldn't support a month to celebrate straight people for sexual orientation, either... It's unnecessary, divisive, pandering. In a country as vast and diverse as the USA, identity politics is poison."

DeSantis also spoke out in favor of the ad. In an interview with conservative personality Tomi Lahren, he said, "Identifying Donald Trump as really being a pioneer in injecting gender ideology into the mainstream, where he was having men compete against women in his beauty pageants — I think that's totally fair game, because he's now campaigning saying the opposite."

Trouble in Florida
The ad flap couldn't have come at a worse time for DeSantis. His campaign is bleeding money, and national polls continue to show him trailing Trump, despite many analysts having speculated early on that he would be the GOP candidate to keep an eye on. It appears the DeSantis campaign strategy has been to position the Florida governor to the right of Trump by showcasing his strong stance on culture war topics, which include LGBTQ+ rights and abortion. Those with political experience believe this is a losing strategy.

Former Florida Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo critiqued the strategy on MSNBC earlier this week. "DeSantis doesn't appear to be running to the right of Donald Trump. He seems to be running beneath Donald Trump. He's attacking Donald Trump for saying Gay people should be treated equally," he said.

"What Gov. DeSantis is doing is dangerous. He's trying desperately to gain support among Republican primary voters. But in some ways, he's almost disqualifying himself, because the types of swing voters who helped Democrats recover from the Republican trifecta of 2016, they're not going to be okay with this."

Not only has the DeSantis campaign come under fire for promoting homophobia, but news networks have also picked up murmurs that the campaign is grossly overspending. In the first six weeks of DeSantis's candidacy, he has spent nearly $8 million. To cut costs, DeSantis is now firing dozens of political staffers. Following his anti-Trump ad, donors have also begun to pull funds from the campaign. According to Politico, some are considering shifting investments toward Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. Even Rupert Murdoch, who voiced early support for DeSantis, is holding out for another candidate.

It isn't just the DeSantis campaign that is hurting — the whole state of Florida is experiencing financial issues related to DeSantis's conservative social policies. Currently, it has the highest inflation rate in the country. The Tampa Bay Times' higher education reporter, Divya Kumar, says some of the state's economic issues stem from a "brain drain," due to the increase in empty education positions as teachers and professors leave the state. Insurance companies are also dropping policies in Florida due to increased climate disasters and anti-LGBTQ+ policies.

According to an NBC poll, Trump holds the lead over DeSantis in Florida by 20%.

Trump's response
Trump's team has now spoken out about the ad. "A desperate DeSanctus [sic] campaign, with a flailing candidate, in its last throes of relevancy," Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, said.

Make no mistake: Trump is far from being an LGBTQ+ ally. While in office, he banned Transgender people from serving in the military, removed Title IX protections for Transgender students, banned Pride flags from flying at US embassies, and of course, appointed an unprecedented number of anti-LGBTQ+ judges.