Ron DeSantis’ awkward smile at debate goes viral: “Nothing more painful”

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis quickly became a trending topic on social media during the second Republican primary debate for his “creep” smile, something for which he was mocked at the first debate.

Many people watching the initial debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, pointed out that smiling didn’t appear to come naturally to the governor, with people sharing clips on social media showing DeSantis smiling, with some calling it “awkward” and “pre-programmed.”

The second GOP debate, moderated by Stuart Varney and Dana Perino from Fox News and with Ilia Calderón from Univision, is being held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum in Simi Valley, California. While seven candidates took the stage, front-runner and former President Donald Trump was not among them.

Newsweek reached out via email on Wednesday night to DeSantis’ representatives for comment.

DeSantis’ name was quickly trending on social media again, but not for his worldview.

One person to weigh in on the governor’s “awkward” smile was Representative Brendan Boyle, a Pennsylvania Democrat, who quickly took to X, formerly Twitter, to mock DeSantis.

“There’s nothing more painful in the universe than Ron DeSantis trying to smile. #awkward #GOPDebate,” Boyle posted shortly after the debate started.

Chicks on the Right called the smile “weird” in a post on X.

“I’m WILLING DeSantis not to do that weird smile thing he does when he finishes an answer. #pleasestop #why #GOPDebate,” chicksonright posted.

Another X user posted that DeSantis’ wife, Casey, is going to “yell at him” over the smile.

“The moment DeSantis forgot he isn’t supposed to be giving his creep smile. His wife is gunna yell at him for this,” toughtalkty wrote.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated as further information becomes available.