Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has officially weirded out social media users after sources close to him told The Daily Beast he ate "a chocolate pudding dessert" with three fingers instead of a spoon.
The allegation was published in The Daily Beast, which cited sources close to DeSantis who are "familiar with the incident.”
Representatives for DeSantis did not respond to requests for comment.
The news nonetheless went viral on Twitter and spawned quite a few funny—and even incredulous—observations.
The memes about the revelation were also plentiful.
Republican operatives have expressed concerns about DeSantis' social skills—or lack thereof.
According to one staffer, DeSantis tends to devour food during meetings and do so "always like a starving animal who has never eaten before… getting s**t everywhere.”
Other staffers described DeSantis as "quiet" and mostly a loner, which one source explained made DeSantis' "shift to the national scene harder than anticipated." Indeed, DeSantis is someone who tends to keep a "small orbit" of people around him.
Hosts of primary stops have expressed concern about DeSantis' tendency to restrict media outlets—he recently granted a rare interview to the Rupert Murdoch-owned Times of London—which could distance him from prospective voters further.
DeSantis, who has signaled an impending presidential run, is arguably former Republican President Donald Trump's biggest competition for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
DeSantis has denied he is running a presidential campaign even as he has embarked on a book tour that political commentators have suggested is a litmus test to see how prospective voters could respond to him in the event he is elevated to the national stage.
The pudding episode aside, many critics have expressed alarm over his fascistic behavior, particularly after his recent decision to stack the board of trustees of the New College of Florida with conservative allies who aim to transform the public liberal arts college into a haven for conservative thought.
DeSantis made "woke" the buzzword of his gubernatorial career by attacking the LGBTQ+ community through his "Don't Say Gay" law and dismantling efforts by schools to teach history that is both accurate and inclusive of contributions made by marginalized groups.
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