Ron DeSantis’s Painfully Weird Smile Goes Viral During GOP Debate Once Again

It’s a big night for DeSantis, and he’s putting on a smile—a creepy facsimile of one, anyway.

At the second Republican presidential debate on Wednesday, Ron Desantis once again tried to smile normally and once again failed.

Viewers watching the debate couldn’t help but notice that when speaking about vetoing “bloating spending bills,” DeSantis plastered a faltering smile on his face, which quickly fell into a disturbed grimace.

DeSantis had the exact same problem during the first Republican debate last month, when his failed attempt to smile quickly became a viral meme.

DeSantis has demonstrated a slew of robotic behavior, from short-circuiting before the press, to seeming like a stock photo model in a series of pictures from 2015 meant to communicate that he was just a regular human man.

At this point, not every viewer is buying that the awkward DeSantis can even hold a conversation.

Joe Biden used Republicans’ own words Wednesday to take aim at their party’s 2024 front-runner.

Trump once again skipped the Republican debate, but his presence was still felt. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis finally found an ounce of spine and called Trump out for not attending the debate.

“He owes it to you to defend his record, where they added $7.8 trillion to the debt. That set the stage for the inflation that we have now,” DeSantis said to applause.

Biden had a simple and hilarious response.

Republicans repeatedly blame Biden for the high debt and inflation. They claim that some of his signature policies, such as to provide financial aid during the pandemic or the Build Back Better Act, are the main contributors.

In reality, Republicans raised the debt ceiling multiple times under Trump. And inflation is high in part because Trump made the U.S. economy weaker.

Joe Biden aired an ad on Fox News just 10 minutes before the beginning of Wednesday’s Republican presidential debate.

Just moments before the debate, the pro-Biden political ad targeted what was sure to be a central issue on the debate stage: jobs.

The ad clearly stated all that Trump failed to do for workers and the U.S. economy

“He says he stands with auto workers, but as president, Donald Trump passed tax breaks for his rich friends while automakers shuttered their plants, and Michigan lost manufacturing jobs,” the ad said directly to Republican voters tuning in to watch the debate.

Trump is noticeably absent from the debate.

The ad also highlighted what Biden has done for the economy, including increasing wages, emphasizing that he has followed through on his commitment to support workers. 

“Joe Biden doesn’t just talk, he delivers,” the ad said. On Tuesday, Biden visited striking auto workers on the picket line in Michigan, a first for a sitting president.

Donald Trump argued that he didn’t fraudulently inflate the value of his real estate holdings because he could sell them to Saudi buyers at any price he chooses.

The revelation comes in one small footnote in a ruling Tuesday that Trump and his company had committed business fraud for years. The lawsuit, brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, found that Trump had dramatically inflated his net worth, by as much as $3.6 billion in one year. She accused Trump of lying about the value of various real estate assets.

But in a deposition, Trump “seems to imply that the numbers cannot be inflated because he could find a ‘buyer from Saudi Arabia’ to pay any price he suggests,” New York state Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron wrote in his ruling.

“This statement may suggest influence buying more than savvy investing,” he added in a footnote.

The lawsuit alleges that Trump claimed his Trump Tower apartment in Manhattan was three times its actual size and worth $327 million. No New York City apartment has ever sold for that much, James said.

He also valued Mar-a-Lago at $739 million. In reality, it’s worth about a tenth of that amount. Trump’s valuation was based on the property’s potential for residential development, but the terms of its deed prevent the land from ever being used that way.

Trump and his allies have always had troubling connections with Saudi Arabia. In 2019, Trump administration officials revealed to Congress that they transferred nuclear technology to Riyadh at least twice, after the killing of U.S. resident and Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. These incidents occurred despite U.S. intelligence concluding that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, referred to as MBS, hired the hit men who killed Khashoggi.

Trump has also hosted LIV Golf tournaments at his clubs. The Saudi-backed golf league is widely seen as an attempt to sportswash the country’s human rights record.

Beyond Trump, his son-in-law Jared Kushner launched an investment fund after they left the White House. One of the first investments Kushner received was $2 billion from a Saudi sovereign wealth fund. Last week, MBS suggested that money would stay with Kushner if Trump were reelected in 2024.

Mary Trump marked her uncle Donald Trump being found liable for fraud by listing all of his historic accomplishments.

New York state Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron ruled Tuesday that Donald Trump had committed business fraud and ordered all his New York business certificates be canceled. This makes it nearly impossible to do business in New York and could effectively kill the Trump Organization as it exists today.

Mary Trump, who has contributed to The New Republic, took to X (formerly Twitter) shortly afterward to point out just how significant the ruling is. Donald Trump is now the first former president to be impeached twice, accused of inciting an insurrection, indicted, found liable for sexual assault, and now found liable for fraud.

“For the victims of Donald, this is finally some vindication. It’s been a long time coming, but after everything Donald has put this country through, WE HAVE PREVAILED,” she wrote.

“Let’s take a minute to celebrate—we’ve all earned it.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Donald Trump and the Trump Organization in September 2022 for business fraud. She is seeking a penalty of $250 million. Engoron issued a partial summary judgment on Tuesday that determined the thrust of James’s case is true and that a trial is not necessary to find Trump liable.

Engoron ruled that the business certificates for “any entity controlled or beneficially owned” by Trump, his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, longtime Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, and Trump Organization executive Jeffrey McConney must be canceled.

He gave the men 10 days to come up with three potential independent candidates to handle the dissolution of all related businesses. Engoron also fined Trump’s lawyers $7,500 each for repeating arguments he had previously dismissed.

Donald Trump has denied his business practices were fraudulent and, after being found liable, tried to blame James and Engoron for being politically biased.

“It is a POLITICALLY MOTIVATED WITCH HUNT by a Racist Attorney General, and a Deranged, Trump Hating Judge,” he wrote on Truth Social. “It is ELECTION INTERFERENCE at a level never seen before.”

Says the man indicted on both the state and federal level for trying to overturn the 2020 election.