A video of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis roaring with laughter has emerged, as the 2024 hopeful makes an apparent effort to loosen-up.
The video, which first aired on C-Span, shows the governor engaged in a conversation with a man at a classic car show in Iowa on May 13. When DeSantis asks: ‘I saw that you have like a 1955 Porsche in there. That one’s nice. How much is that worth?’
‘Ugh, we won’t even talk about that,’ the man responds. DeSantis was clearly tickled by the remark, and flung his head back to give a hearty-open mouthed guffaw.
An image of DeSantis laughing with his mouth wide open during the same moment was also snapped by Wall Street Journal reporter John McCormick, who uploaded it to his Twitter account.
While many were quick to crack jokes, others pointed out the loosening up may be a targeted effort ahead of his all-but certain presidential bid. DeSantis is rumored to be making the announcement at an event in Miami next week, Bloomberg reported.
Adversaries have argued in the past that DeSantis – a current favorite in the Republican party – has an issue with ‘grip and grin’ politics which sees lawmakers get out and about to try and charm voters in person.
The video, which first aired on C-Span, shows the hotly-debated Republican engaged in a conversation with a man who cracks a joke that sent the governor into stitches
Wall Street Journal reporter John McCormick also shared a snap of DeSantis enjoying himself on the campaign trail
The video of the Republican governor comes from a fundraising event for Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa, held at a classic car museum in Sioux Center.
Before greeting crowd members, DeSantis gave the keynote address in which he addressed his own personal wins in Florida as well as Feenstra’s successes in Iowa.
He delivered his remarks to a room of about 700 attendees and included sentiment regarding how he hopes to snowball his success at the national level soon.
DeSantis’ attempts to connect with voters comes as he continues to trail Donald Trump in the polls. The former president has been energized by an indictment for paying porn star Stormy Daniels hush money, and has dethroned DeSantis as Republicans’ favored 2024 candidate.
In a recent New York Times piece, it was reported DeSantis and his team have had ‘internal conversations’ regarding his need to engage in more small talk, handshaking, and eye contact as he prepares himself for a presidential run.
DeSantis laughed at one man evading a question about how much his car costs
In response to the man’s bashful and joking response, the Florida governor threw his head back in a loud and raucous laugh
The viral video of the Republican governor comes from a fundraising event for Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa, held at a classic car museum in Sioux Center
During the same visit in Iowa, a reporter also asked DeSantis if he had an update on his presidential campaign that he could share.
‘Stay tuned,’ he responded coyly.
That response comes as a new Reuters data shows him paces behind former President Donald Trump in prospective 2024 candidates polling.
The poll found that in the 2024 Republican primary, Trump maintains a commanding lead over DeSantis.
Some 49 percent of registered Republican respondents said they would pick the former president while just 21 percent said they would support DeSantis.
Other candidates on the list included former Vice President Mike Pence and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who both garnered less than 5 percent.
Despite the data, it would appear DeSantis is aimed solely at the moment on advancing his agenda in Florida as he continues to pass sweeping legislation.
On Wednesday, he signed into law a bill that banned sex reassignment surgeries and medications such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy for children.
The Florida law, known as Senate Bill 254, was passed last month by the state legislature and blocks ‘gender-affirming’ care for anyone under the age of 18.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a bill banning sex reassignment surgeries and medications such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy for children
‘Stay tuned,’ Gov. DeSantis said when asked if he had any announcements to share
Former President Donald Trump, who announced his reelection bid last November, has already come out swinging against DeSantis – despite him not being officially in the race
The notable Republican has also been in a headline-making war with Disney over the last year over last year’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law which Disney spoke out against.
In a recent interview, DeSantis claimed victory over the entertainment giant as he said ‘Disney has not made a peep,’ since their legal battle.
DeSantis told Newsmax: ‘Since our skirmish last year, Disney has not been involved in any of those issues.’
The Parental Rights in Education Bill, banned classroom instruction on gender identity or sexual orientation from kindergarten through third grade.