I’m not exaggerating when I say that Ron DeSantis executed one of the best trolls of the mainstream media I’ve ever seen on Wednesday. Forget the fact that I’m a fan of DeSantis as a politician. In objective terms, he took the head off the press with a move that left them absolutely nowhere to go.

During a briefing on Florida’s supposed “book banning,” DeSantis didn’t just rhetorically defend his state’s measures to remove pornographic material from schools. He actually showed what was being removed on live television. That forced the same news organizations that have criticized him to have to cut their feeds.

Here’s the video, which was played prior to DeSantis’ speech.

(WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT THAT IS NOT SUITABLE FOR WORK!)

Warning: This video contains pornographic images and content not suitable for children. If you can’t read these books at a school board meeting, should they be in a school? https://t.co/gHBoQh5eYa

— Taryn Fenske (@tarynfenske) March 8, 2023

UPDATE: Some of the media had to cut their feed when books with graphic content were displayed that were found in K-12 school libraries. https://t.co/zZMm4CuPsI

— Bryan Griffin (@BryanDGriffin) March 8, 2023

Talk about setting a trap and having your enemies walk right into it. For months, Florida and national press outlets have decried DeSantis’ move to protect children as fascist and authoritarian. Yet, when faced with the actual books being removed, which include sexually explicit content, those same press outlets had to stop broadcasting in order to not run afoul of FCC regulations.

What better way for DeSantis to make his point than that? If this stuff can’t be shown to adults on daytime television, why should it be available to kids in schools? When I say the press is left with nowhere to go after that, their only path now is to defend the pornographic materials shown by DeSantis. Otherwise, they are admitting, either directly or implicitly, that he’s right.

And he is right. For all the left-wing freak-out that has ensued, there is no justification for publicly-funded pornography for children in schools. That such a thing is controversial shows how truly deranged the Democratic Party has become. Would you trust these people with your children? I know I wouldn’t.

This takedown is why I’m so bullish on DeSantis as a presidential candidate. I’m not “anti-Trump,” but when I see the ability of DeSantis, with all his demonstrated efficiency and cunningness, it’s hard to not want him representing the GOP on the national stage. This guy treats running the government like open-heart surgery and the press like a punching bag. He picks the battles and they come running like lambs to the slaughter. It’s a thing of beauty.

Lastly, it’s also a thing of necessity. Children need to be protected, and public schools are not grooming institutions. DeSantis has led this fight, and every Republican that joins him is doing yeoman’s work. Watching the press seethe is part of the payoff, but it’s not the most important part.