Republican presidential contender and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis brought his campaign to Iowa Friday, but some found his actions hard to swallow.
DeSantis was among 13 Republicans who spoke Friday night at the Iowa Lincoln Dinner.
The Des Moines Register noted that DeSantis was joined by former President Donald Trump, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former Rep. Will Hurd of Texas, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, talk show host Larry Elder, businessman and pastor Ryan Binkley, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Michigan businessman Perry Johnson, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina.
The speeches were followed by some mingling, and that led to controversy over whether DeSantis knocking back a Coors Light with his supporters was a bit of the common touch, a failed attempt to appear human, or a violation of sacrosanct etiquette.
How absolutely tone deaf.
We’ve got a fraud president currently in the Whitehouse with a crack head son who just left cocaine in the library, and DeSantis is out here cracking a beer like a goon.
The optics are horrendous, and he’s totally oblivious.pic.twitter.com/sZ3YlKC1Yj
— Brenden Dilley (@WarlordDilley) July 29, 2023
I prefer my candidates sober like Donald Trump.
I wouldn’t be caught dead with alcohol in my hand as a candidate. I think it’s a bad look when candidates are getting sloshed on the campaign trail.
You shouldn’t be drinking at campaign events. It’s classless.
Everyone who… https://t.co/QSJO1s33uc
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) July 29, 2023
I think I’ll… get me a beer.
— AlphaFo? (@Alphafox78) July 29, 2023
Lighten up. It is a beer.
— Jason Crouch (@jasoncrouch) July 29, 2023
The DeSantis campaign is over.
If catching a buzz makes your guy LESS likable, you’re really out of options.
No one — in the history of bottled beer — has ever looked more awkward with one in their hand.pic.twitter.com/NyjfwUaMkH
— JΛKΣ (@USMCLiberal) July 29, 2023
After a fiery speech at the Iowa Lincoln Dinner, DeSantis orders a Coors Light and continues to hang out with supporters.
Man of the people. pic.twitter.com/I9eqw41ygC
— Courtney Holland ?? (@hollandcourtney) July 29, 2023
During his speech, DeSantis said that if elected, he would be a far different president from President Joe Biden, saying “there will be no cocaine in the White House.” (16 seconds.)
Governor @RonDeSantis CRUSHED it last night in Iowa ?
Check out his full speech! pic.twitter.com/4cGVi7aMUK
— Team DeSantis (@TeamDeSantis) July 29, 2023
We’re gonna get it done! ? pic.twitter.com/U7Jd5oPZcD
— Team DeSantis (@TeamDeSantis) July 29, 2023
“We will usher in a reckoning for those like Dr. Fauci, who perpetrated COVID-19 lockdown and mandate,” DeSantis said.
“You don’t coddle bureaucrats like Dr. Fauci. You bring them in and you say, ‘You are fired,’ and we are going to hold them accountable for what they did.”
“This is our chance in 2024 to send the Biden-Harris administration to the dustbin where it belongs,” DeSantis said (8:38). “The time for excuses is over. We must get the job done.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.