As RedState reported earlier today, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis caused an absolute meltdown after holding a “secret” signing ceremony for his state’s new election reform law. The best part is that it wasn’t actually secret, though, the media lost their minds claiming it was. In fact, it was broadcast on national television.

(See: Ron DeSantis Expertly Triggers Media Meltdowns During Voter Bill Signing for Entirely Legit Reasons)

There goes the Governor. He Said the event wasn’t secret, “it was on national news” pic.twitter.com/YWs82cDPjB

— Danielle Waugh (@DanielleCBS12) May 6, 2021

Things got so bad that supposed “fact-checking” site Snopes even gnashed their teeth.

Gov. Ron DeSantis staged the signing on a live broadcast of Fox & Friends, flanked by a small group of GOP legislators in Palm Beach County. Other media organizations were shut out of the event. https://t.co/IRRGX2492l

— snopes.com (@snopes) May 6, 2021

You see, DeSantis had smartly told the mainstream media to go pound sand, instead choosing the sign the bill while he was being interviewed by Fox and Friends. It’s the kind of move that we see far too little of on the right.

Last week, while writing on an MSNBC anchor losing her mind on West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, I noted this about Republicans and media appearances.

Again, why would any Republican subject themselves to this? Could we please have smarter people representing the GOP via elected office? Is that really too much to ask? Honestly, any Republican politician who is dumb enough to go on Stephanie Ruhle’s show deserves what they get.

I could spend another few hundred words talking about how garbage MSNBC is, but we are already know how garbage that network is. How about using that knowledge by not indulging them? Justice is stuck in an old-school mindset whereby GOP politicians think they owe it to the media to go on their shows and take their lumps.

DeSantis is way ahead of the curve on this. In just his first term as governor, he’s already learned how to embarrass and subjugate the hostile, left-wing media that otherwise lives to try to destroy him. Instead of giving them interviews, he locks them out and then rubs it in their faces. That’s the kind of fight that is required in today’s political environment. The days of being able to go on CNN or ABC News for an interview are over if you are a Republican, and if you keep doing so anyway, you deserve what you get.

That’s why DeSantis drives the media so insane. He doesn’t play their game, and he has no respect for them. Further, he’s not scared to show he has no respect for them. These legacy outlets and biased local publications don’t deserve access when all they are going to do with it is weaponize it for their own partisan gain.

Meanwhile, his behavior causes his opponents to act like this.

.@GovRonDeSantis is taking away our rights and bowing to the extreme right-wing media. I will not let this stand. pic.twitter.com/Dj2j3uCH6i

— Nikki Fried (@nikkifried) May 6, 2021

Who comes out looking better in this exchange? It’s certainly not Nikki Fried, who is left reacting once again while DeSantis drives the narrative.

Where other Republicans continue to act as if it’s 2005 when it comes to their interactions with the media, DeSantis has taken what Donald Trump pioneered and refined it. That’s why he’s so exciting as a future star in the Republican Party. That he’s already tweaking Never Trumpers as well is a bonus.

The best thing you can do with biased media outlets is to laugh in their face and let them go whine. It makes them look small and petty. Most of all, it ensures that you are driving the ship and not the other way around. If they are reacting, they are losing. Every Republican should take notes on how DeSantis is handling himself because it’s the way forward.