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Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis may be archenemies, but Florida’s First Lady Casey DeSantis doesn’t feel like she has a rivalry with Melania Trump. While some political foes criticized her as the “Walmart Melania,” Casey isn’t letting the negativity get to her one bit — she thinks it’s an honor to be compared to the former first lady.
While touring Iowa, a crucial state for her husband’s campaign, she discussed some of the insults that have been hurled her way. “They call you, like, Walmart Melania, which, by the way, if I’m in the same sentence with Melania, that’s a win for me,” she said at an event on Saturday, via Florida Politics. Casey finds the nickname a compliment because she is an avid Walmart shopper. “You know how quickly our kids grow out of clothes when they’re six, five, and three,” she noted in reference to her three children, Madison, Mamie, and Mason.
Casey has been accused of trying to be more of a “Melania lite” when it comes to her wardrobe choices — outfits that are more “aspirational” than “elitist.” Melania wore couture fashions in the White House that were outside of the average American’s household budget, so Casey looks to level that playing field. One campaign strategy she won’t be following is Melania’s absence from Donald Trump’s events. Casey is 100% committed to Ron’s run for president even if his road to the Republican Party nomination is a rough one right now.
And as Kate Andersen Brower noted to SheKnows, Casey’s approach to the supportive wife is much more Nancy Reagan than Melania. The author of First Women: The Grace and Power of America’s Modern First Ladies believes that Casey “is filling that more stereotypical wife, mother, and advisor [role].” Brower added, “She reminds me a bit of Nancy Reagan. She’s his biggest protector. He’s the governor of a major, important state.” So, maybe Casey’s critics need to take a look at a history book and see whose playbook she’s really taking a page from.
Before you go, click here to see the best presidential love stories in U.S. history.
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