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 and referring to it as "awkward" and "pre-programmed."

The second GOP debate on Wednesday night, 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 and instead opted to deliver a speech at a at a non-union auto parts manufacturing company in Michigan.

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

Since Trump has declined to participate in the GOP primary debates, DeSantis stood center-stage, in the spot reserved for the candidate with the highest polling numbers. He has trailed Trump since the governor announced his candidacy on X, formerly Twitter, in May.

DeSantis' name was quickly trending on social media again, but not for his worldview. His smile, which several social media users called "weird," sparked a slew of jokes.

One person to weigh in on the governor's "awkward" smile was Representative Brendan Boyle, a Pennsylvania Democrat, who quickly took to X 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.

While sharing a seven-second clip from the debate, another social media user also called the smile creepy.

"The moment when DeSantis remembered that his team told him to not smile like a creep," JLCauvin posted.

Chris D. Jackson, a Tennessee elections commissioner, shared a GIF zooming in on DeSantis' grin.

"OMG. DeSantis did that smile thing again,"
Jackson posted.

Numerous people on X found the moment hilarious. Mehdi Hasan, host of The Mehdi Hasan Show on MSNBC, said the Florida lawmaker is "beyond saving."

"Oh my, DeSantis did it again tonight: the rant, followed by the forced smile, followed by the grimace. Hilarious. He is beyond saving," Hasan posted.