A serial philanderer definitely knows what it means and probably encouraged this story.

https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/zaddy

zaddy (plural zaddies)

(originally African-American Vernacular, slang) A handsome, fashionable man, especially an older man.

His handsomeness has always come across as “sleazy used car salesman” to me. He is good at talking to the press, but he is not a good governor. I really hope dems don’t try to force him down our throats as the future of the Democratic Party.