Ron DeSantis' Awkward Wedding Entrance Sparks Memes, Jokes

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was mocked online for his "awkward" entrance with his wife, Casey DeSantis at the wedding of Iowa Republican Taylor Collins in Des Moines on Saturday night, with social media users accusing him of stealing attention from the bride and groom.

DeSantis, who's currently second in the Republican primary polling for the 2024 presidential election trailing Donald Trump, made a surprise visit to the wedding in Iowa's capital in what many observers have described as part of his efforts to win support in the state and connect with voters.

Videos of the event shared online show the Florida governor entering the wedding reception, held at the Beaux-Arts-style building, with his wife and walking straight into the room after the newlywed couple. Collins and his bride can be seen stepping to the side and clapping for the Republican governor as the audience in attendance cheers. DeSantis stops for a few seconds to wave around, without clapping himself.

Collins, who was elected to Iowa's state House of Representatives last year and took office in January 2023, has endorsed DeSantis for 2024. The Florida governor's attendance at his wedding was reportedly unexpected for Collins, as DeSantis was invited by his wife, Savannah Collins, according to The New York Times.

An attendee confirmed to the Times that DeSantis received a standing ovation with his surprise entrance and stayed to mingle with guests for about an hour.

DeSantis' appearance at the wedding, which follows other occasions in which the Florida governor has popped up announced in Iowa venues to garner support last week—including a Pizza Ranch restaurant—has been praised by some on social media, who say "he seems to have found his mojo."

But not everyone appreciated DeSantis' gesture. On social media, critics of the Florida governor accused him of crashing weddings in the style of Trump but failing to spark the same positive reaction.

One person published a clip of DeSantis at Collins' wedding next to Trump crashing a wedding at his New Jersey golf club last week, only hours after pleading not guilty to conspiring to overturn the 2020 election results.

"Donald Trump enters to thunderous cheers and chants of 'U-S-A!' He then compliments the couple and the beauty of the bride," a Trump supporter wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. "Ron and Casey awkwardly enter behind the bride and groom, stealing their entrance moment."

An X user seconded the comparison, writing: "Didn't I just see a candidate at a wedding a few days ago.... Oh wait. Desantis is like a tribute band."

Others accused DeSantis of upstaging the bride and groom and being "tacky."

"It's like hey bride stand aside we're coming in now I know what your special day but to hell with you we're better and we're more special it looked ridiculous," wrote another person on X. "Sure come in fine after the introduction and the first dance perfect timing then the DeSantis are a selfish couple."

Collins himself said he was honored by DeSantis' visit. "You never know who will crash your wedding reception during caucus season! An honor to be on #TeamDeSantis," he posted on X.

As of August 3, Trump was leading the Republican primary polling with 53.3 percent of the vote, according to FiveThirtyEight. DeSantis was estimated to have 14.3 percent of the vote, a drop from the over 18 percent reported at the end of last month.

Newsweek reached out to DeSantis' spokesperson and Collins via email for comment on Monday.