Remember when comparing a politician's wife to Lady MacBeth was sexist?
That was before Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R.) was on the brink of running for president. Now, it's fair game to suggest his wife, Casey DeSantis—a former TV journalist, mother of three, and breast cancer survivor—is a schemer akin to Shakespeare's iconic lady villain.
In a profile of Casey DeSantis published Friday, Politico senior writer Michael Kruse quoted four anonymous GOP operatives and dirty trickster Roger Stone, a loyalist of former president Donald Trump, to make the comparison.
LOL at Politico comparing Casey DeSantis to Lady Macbeth, what is this??https://t.co/zDHYamci07
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) May 19, 2023
It was just a few months ago that Politico published an article arguing the "Lady MacBeth trope" reinforces "traditional gender roles that make any ambitious woman suspect."
Nor was it so long ago that Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential run inspired a journalistic reckoning over comparing powerful women to Lady MacBeth.
Journalists deemed it sexist to call Michelle Obama "ungracious" and to question First Lady Jill Biden's status as a doctor (of education).
Wives of Democratic politicians are pathbreaking feminist icons.
First lady Dr. Jill Biden appears on the cover of the June/July cover of Harper's Bazaar magazine, the first time in the magazine's 155-year history a first lady has appeared on the cover, according to a release from the magazine https://t.co/ep9J1uHAyX
— CNN (@CNN) May 31, 2022
A former undocumented immigrant from Brazil, Gisele Fetterman never wanted a life in the spotlight. She didn't have a choice after her husband had a strokehttps://t.co/bxY59vhw8c
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) October 15, 2022
To the first lady, with love https://t.co/v1PIeYrJcm pic.twitter.com/4Ds0Aue6T2
— T Magazine (@tmagazine) October 17, 2016
But Republican "political wives" can be either victims of or nefarious influences on their husbands.
"What Is Susan Pompeo Really Up To?" Politico wondered of then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's wife in 2020.
"I asked Heidi whether she was thinking about killing herself," The Atlantic reported of the wife of Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) in 2018.
Former first lady Melania Trump was cast in both roles.
News analysis: Why First Lady Melania Trump's vanishing act matters. https://t.co/o1pp7Lg0j3
— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 4, 2018
Melania Trump, like America, may be more in love with President Trump than his critics would hope https://t.co/VhUVvjbpiL
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 17, 2020
Melania Trump voted on Election Day without a mask in Palm Beach, Florida, despite a county mask mandate. She was the only voter in the room at the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center at the time, the county's election supervisor said. https://t.co/0iWpHILUJg pic.twitter.com/NBR3jj3dKy
— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 3, 2020
Meanwhile, only the finest conservative publications have reported on how Jennifer Siebel Newsom may be cashing in on her marriage to California's Democratic governor.
NEW: California Gov. Gavin Newsom's wife has charged the state’s public schools as much as $1.5 million to screen her documentaries on "gender justice" and "corporate exploitation."
Via @SusannahLuthi https://t.co/Q5sZzZGLU0
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) January 30, 2023