Ron DeSantis' 'Snake' Appearance During Republican Debate Goes Viral

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Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

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Ron DeSantis' tongue got a lot of attention on social media during the fourth Republican presidential debate on Wednesday, with users ridiculing the Florida governor for what they called his "snake" move.

DeSantis, who in Republican primary polling is at 12.7 percent of the vote, just a couple of percentage points ahead of former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, has a habit of licking his lips during media appearances—something his critics have been quick to notice and mock.

"When Ron DeSantis thinks he scores points he goes to the 'snake'," a user on X, formerly known as Twitter, wrote on the social media platform, sharing a clip from the Wednesday debate showing DeSantis sticking out his tongue for a second.

"Creepy," one user commented, while another said that the move was proof that DeSantis was "cold blooded."

Ron DeSantis
Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis participates in the NewsNation Republican Presidential Primary Debate at the University of Alabama Moody Music Hall on December 6, 2023 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Social media users mocked DeSantis... Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The Florida governor was one of only four candidates who attended the fourth and final Republican primary debate together with Haley, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. According to Newsweek's analysis, DeSantis and Haley, who are fighting for second place in polling behind front-runner Donald Trump, were among the winners of the debate.

"DeSantis had the better overall performance given the high stakes and momentum in the race, but Haley has benefited the most from the debates to date and this could be viewed as another solid performance by her supporters," Aaron Kall, political commentator and director of the debate program at the University of Michigan, told Newsweek.

But DeSantis' 2024 campaign has been dwindling since he announced his presidential bid in May. While in early June support for the Florida governor was above 20 percent, as of December 6 he had only 12.7 percent of the predicted Republican primary vote, according to FiveThirtyEight.

On the other end, Haley's campaign has experienced a significant boost after the former governor was endorsed last week by Americans for Prosperity Action. The group is among the wealthiest GOP donors.

Since the first Republican primary debate, Haley has been growing in polls while DeSantis has been slipping. On Wednesday, DeSantis fought back criticism by the other candidates over the stalling of his campaign, saying he was the only one on stage "willing to stand up and fight back against what the left is doing to this country.

Neither DeSantis nor Haley are any closer to bridge the existing gap with Trump in polling. As of December 6, the embattled former president, who is facing 91 felony charges spread among four indictments, had 59.6 percent of the vote.

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About the writer

Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

Writers Page

Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property ... Read more