Ron DeSantis is given the meme treatment as critics hilariously put the boot into his choice of footwear, battle with Disney and roaring laughter after he ends his presidential campaign
Within hours of Florida governor Ron DeSantis suspending his Republican presidential campaign, social media users were quick to come up with memes signifying the end of his 2024 run for White House.
DeSantis endorsed his bitter rival Donald Trump on Sunday afternoon, just days before the New Hampshire primary.
Many of the memes highlighted the former candidate’s awkwardness, eccentricity and love of wearing boots. Trump’s beloved nickname for him – ‘Meatball Ron’ also got a mention.
Others focused on his fallout with Disney. The Republican governor and GOP-dominated Florida Legislature took control of the district which Disney World is based.
The move was in retaliation after Disney publicly opposed a state law championed by DeSantis, banning classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades.
Several memes also focused on his fallout with Disney, after the company opposed banning classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity
A video from last May saw him roaring with laughter as the then-2024 hopeful made an apparent effort to loosen up
‘Meatball Ron’ was another nickname made popular by Trump during the campaign
One social media user made a tombstone signifying the length of DeSantis’ campaign
Others made fun of the fact they could never take DeSantis’ campaign seriously, donning Mickey Mouse ears on him
DeSantis has faced an uphill battle from the start when it comes to connecting with voters and has frequently been accused of being uptight and humorless.
Trump’s nickname for him as ‘Ron Desanctimonious’ and ‘Meatball Ron’ also didn’t help.
Both attempted to portray the Florida Governor as aloof and out of touch.
The ‘meatball’ term was an apparent dig at DeSantis’s appearance – his pudgier frame, while hinting at a lock of social grace.
Using the word ‘meatball’ is also a slur against Italian-Americans with all eight of DeSantis’ great-grandparents coming from Italy.
But during his campaign there have been flashes that showed a different side to him.
A video from last May saw him roaring with laughter has emerged, as the 2024 hopeful made an apparent effort to loosen up.
The video showed the governor engaged in a conversation with a man at a classic car show in Iowa. When DeSantis asks: ‘I saw that you have like a 1955 Porsche in there. That one’s nice. How much is that worth?’
‘Ugh, we won’t even talk about that,’ the man responds. DeSantis was clearly tickled by the remark and flung his head back to give a hearty-open-mouthed guffaw.
In an image that sees Trump as The Godfather, DeSantis is seen pledging his loyalty to him
Some users were quick to poke fun at DeSantis love of wearing cowboy boots. In this meme he is seen wearing women’s knee high Gogo boots
The Florida governor has been accused of inserting lifts into pairs of brown and black boots to turn them into heels, giving him a height boost – as Americans like taller candidates
One X user depicted DeSantis’ daughters describing him as a ‘sniveling coward’
The ‘Meatball Ron’ nickname appeared to have resonated with those who disliked DeSantis
One artist managed to portray DeSantis as a human meatball complete with boots
Another user attempted to surmise DeSantis’ thoughts of Nikki Haley during a recent GOP debate
A meme showed DeSantis’s white rain boots pocking out beneath a house, with Mickey Mouse looking on – a parody of Wizard of Oz
Another described how DeSantis had ‘lost’ to a mouse and rat, with pictures of Mickey Mouse and an inflatable of Trump
Some memes were not particularly funny and went for a very base level of humor
This image depicted a blood-thirsty Mickey Mouse as having defeated DeSantis in the race
A scene from Pretty Woman saw DeSantis taking on the lead role and having a bath
An image of DeSantis laughing with his mouth wide open during the same moment was also snapped by Wall Street Journal reporter John McCormick, who uploaded it to his Twitter account.
While many were quick to crack jokes, others pointed out that ‘loosening up’ was a targeted effort.
Adversaries have argued in the past that DeSantis has an issue with ‘grip and grin’ politics which sees lawmakers get out and about to try and charm voters in person.
Early in the campaign it was reported DeSantis and his team had ‘internal conversations’ regarding his need to engage in more small talk, handshaking and eye contact.
One meme depicted DeSantis as a plastic toy, termed ‘Useless Man’ with a laughing Joe Biden looking on
The mocking of DeSantis’ hatred of Disney saw the tables turned as the cartoon character reacted to him dropping out in this meme
Another Disney / DeSantis meme following the Florida Governor’s ending of his campaign
Many used DeSantis’ campaign collapse as a way for Disney to fight back via memes
DeSantis is seen next to Elon Musk who has suffered a number of space rocked malfunctions over the years on his Florida launchpad
One user compared DeSantis’ campaign to that of the ill-fated Titan submarine that imploded
Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman tweeted gleefully using Mickey Mouse to deliver his message
Disney was a popular theme in the meme’s with DeSantis portrayed as one of Snow White’s dwarfs
A Trump cap-wearing snake referenced Florida’s children’s book ban in this tweet
DeSantis’ boots featured prominently in this image of him walking back to his home in Florida
One makeshift image saw Trump dumping DeSantis as an alligator, out with the garbage
One meme turned a DeSantis slogan against him following his early campaign suspension
The Florida Governor’s pro-life stance was mocked in this meme. DeSantis has said he would support a federal ban on abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy
DeSantis was mocked at the start of his campaign for the shambolic Twitter room presidential announcement with Elon Musk that crashed five times
TikTok user Spamellina sketched the shape of a high heel over the photo of DeSantis in his boots and then shared a picture of a pair of women’s wedged boots for comparison
DeSantis has pulled out ahead of the New Hampshire primary which would like have seenan abysmal performance according to the latest NBC News poll
The Florida governor was been accused of inserting lifts into pairs of brown and black boots to turn them into heels, giving him a height boost – as Americans traditionally like taller candidates.
DeSantis claimed to be unaware that people online were theorizing that he was wearing heels, saying his boots were ‘just standard, off the rack Lucchese’ and that he stood at 5’11”.
But expert shoemakers came forward to say he was using lifts to make himself look taller.
It once again made for an easy target when it came to making memes teasing the former candidate.
Last week, even Trump took time to attack DeSantis’ footwear as he predicted the imminent end of his run.
‘His poll numbers have gone down to a level that he is going to be out of the race very soon. He’s going to be out very soon. You know, I watched him last night, he is standing up with his shoes – his fancy shoes,’ Trump said on January 11.
The reference to claims DeSantis wears concealed lifts in his boots got a laugh from the crowd.