Audience left 'bewildered' after DeSantis shakes hands — with his wife

In a July 2023 New Republic article by Alex Shephard, he offered some reasons behind why Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign numbers have lagged so far behind ex-President Donald Trump's. First on the list was the GOP hopeful's "lack of charisma."

"Where did it all go wrong for Ron DeSantis?" Shephard wrote. "You could point to Donald Trump's first indictment — or his second, for that matter — when Republican voters rallied behind the former president in droves. You could point to the Florida governor's disastrous, glitchy campaign launch on Elon Musk's disastrous, glitchy Twitter…. But Ron DeSantis' biggest problem is existential: It’s that he's Ron DeSantis."

A Thursday, January 11 The New York Times report pointed to DeSantis' history "of strained social interactions and clumsy pantomimes of warmth" after an encounter with his wife during the final GOP Debate against ex-South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.

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"During the second commercial break," the Times reports, "Mr. DeSantis, the governor of Florida, strode to the edge of the stage and reached down to shake hands with Gov. Kim Reynolds, Republican of Iowa, and her husband. Then, with a businesslike rigor, he grasped the outstretched palm of Casey DeSantis, Florida’s first lady," leaving audience members "bewildered."

The newspaper pointed to other GOP candidates who "have had their own awkward romantic moments. At the end of the primary debate in November, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina was joined onstage by his girlfriend, Mindy Noce — a stilted public debut after months of speculation about his romantic life. Days later, he dropped out of the race." And "Donald Trump’s wife, Melania, is largely absent from the campaign trail this year. (During his first term, Mrs. Trump was photographed on several occasions apparently declining to hold his outstretched hand.) Nikki Haley’s husband, a commissioned officer in the U.S. National Guard, is deployed in Africa."

However, the report notes, "To be fair, Mr. DeSantis was standing on an elevated stage, on a tight timetable, making an embrace impractical. Too much affection runs its own political risks."

READ MORE: 'Cold and awkward' Ron DeSantis’ 'lack of charisma' may sink his presidential hopes: journalist