Washington Post Columnist Praises Ron DeSantis for Getting the ‘Awkward American’ Vote: ‘He’s Like a Sad Puppy’
AP Photo/Jeff Roberson
Among the many issues that voters have with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), such as his unpopular “war on woke,” one might hit on the personal rather than the political. In many clips, DeSantis is seen interacting with regular folks, but there’s always something a little… off. He’s awkward. He’s not really connecting. He’s just not a personable guy. And according to Ben Terris of the Washington Post, that’s actually helping people understand him because they can relate.
In what has to be the most humanizing profile of Ron DeSantis ever written, Terris quotes several people who are similarly awkward and a little socially inept. Watching DeSantis, it seems, garners the candidate some empathy because some of us are just naturally wallflowers.
After watching awkward videos of Ron DeSantis, Derek Guy had a horrifying realization. … [W]hen Guy, the menswear writer, watched a video of DeSantis cycling through four different facial expressions in about three seconds during a news conference, he saw something even more disturbing.
“Oh, God,” he remembers saying to himself. “That’s me.”
Guy added: “A normal human being would understand how to light up your face, how to engage, how to say the right thing. But DeSantis doesn’t have that. And I definitely don’t have that.”
Anecdotes like this, people from several walks of life, picking out moments in their own lived experiences, seeing a bit of themselves in DeSantis, also had them seeing not just a presidential candidate but a person just trying to do his best. And sometimes his best is weird.
It’s a stark contrast to the kind of persona DeSantis is actually hoping to portray, what with his Top Gun-themed fanfiction campaign ads and fights he picks with private corporations for supporting policies with which he disagrees (see: Disney and Bud Light). Even some of the Fellow Awkwards in the article can see through DeSantis’ tough guy act:
“Before he ran for president, he was this abrasive governor, always fighting with reporters and giving off an impression of being extremely confident,” said Joseph Coll, a native Floridian who is now in Arizona getting his law degree. “Now he’s like a sad puppy, and it’s surprising that he actually feels relatable to me.”
It’s just speculation, but maybe being on a national stage makes DeSantis a little fish in a big pond rather than a shark in a puddle.
But before anyone thinks that relating to DeSantis or seeing him as one of the townspeople from Parks and Recreation is translating to votes, that may not necessarily be true. And it still has nothing to do with his politics. Terris writes:
When it comes to political people such as DeSantis, the question of likability has to do with a lot more than how deftly they “own” their awkwardness. There are plenty of people who both relate to DeSantis and find him detestable for his politics.
Here are quotes from some of those people:
Coll: “If his polices weren’t so abhorrent, it would be more endearing.”
Alex Whitlock, a “Never Trump” Republican from West Virginia: “It’s all part of what I consider a negative personality. I can’t tell where the awkwardness that I relate to ends and the malicious figure begins.”
Kate Ecke, a therapist from New Jersey: “Given the decision between voting for him and getting a Pap smear from a girl I went to high school with, hand me the paper gown.”
While being likeable and an absolute social ace is not a requirement for being the President of the United States, a little charm, even awkward charm, goes a long way, especially on the rope line. It’s a public service position after all.
This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.
