DeSantis Debuts ‘Top Gun’-Style Ad With Himself As Maverick

deadline.com:

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is cast as a maverick in a new campaign ad. Or more accurately, he’s cast as THE Maverick, Tom Cruise’s character from this summer’s blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick.

In the “Top Gov” spot released late yesterday, DeSantis arrives in a bomber jacket and — mirroring scenes from the film — gives whiteboard lecture, though his is about “taking on the corporate media,” not about pulling 10 Gs during a bombing run.

He then zips up his flight suit and walks out onto the tarmac. It ends with DeSantis, helmet on, in the cockpit of a fighter jet.DeSantis is himself served in the Navy for six years and was awarded the Bronze Star before his honorable discharge in 2010.

According to the Miami Herald, he was deployed to both Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, but his service was more JAG than Top Gun. He was a military lawyer who advised on the legality of operations.Top Gov… Dogfighting… Taking on the Corporate Media…Rules of Engagement are as Follows:⬇️ pic.twitter.com/tG7iMCAXvY— Casey DeSantis (@CaseyDeSantis) August 23, 2022DeSantis went on Fox News this morning to discuss the spot, saying it was not his idea to cast himself as Maverick. “I think it was something that my wife initially thought about,” he told Fox & Friends.