Body Language Expert Tells Us DeSantis Can't Feign Enthusiasm For Trump In Bland Endorsement
When Florida Governor Ron DeSantis first launched his Republican presidential campaign in 2023, he was favored to be a strong contender — even beating rival Donald Trump in some polls. However, as the months went on, DeSantis couldn't build any momentum, and he dropped out after a second-place finish in the Iowa caucuses and before the New Hampshire primary. He posted his resignation speech to X, formerly known as Twitter, in which DeSantis formally endorsed Trump.
Even though DeSantis now publicly endorsed Trump as the Republican candidate for president, those words of support didn't seem all that enthusiastic to Jess Ponce III, body language expert, communication coach, and author of "A.W.E.S.O.M.E.: Seven Keys to Unlocking the Speaker Within." Ponce told The List, "DeSantis' speech came across as overly scripted and devoid of expression, lacking punctuation in his tone. He resembled a talking head, displaying no hand gestures or movements—leaving one to wonder if his hands were, in fact, tied, both literally and figuratively."
"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
- Winston Churchill pic.twitter.com/ECoR8YeiMm
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) January 21, 2024
For his part, Trump has thanked DeSantis for the endorsement, seemingly not seeing any problems with its delivery. Trump has also said he's "officially retired" the name "Ron DeSanctimonious," as reported by The New York Times, which was one of the insults he'd used the most when talking about the Florida governor.
Ron DeSantis brought his trademark lackluster delivery to his Trump endorsement
The bland delivery by Ron DeSantis continued throughout the entire speech. "DeSantis presented himself in a calculated and impersonal demeanor—lacking emotion or physical gestures," Jess Ponce III explained to The List. "Even when discussing encounters on the campaign trail or his family's experiences on the road." For example, DeSantis talked about how his kids made their first-ever snowman during a campaign visit to New Hampshire. "These moments, usually opportunities for connecting with constituents through posture and passion, were notably absent," Ponce said. DeSantis has been called out before for seemingly lacking emotion, including Donald Trump at one point saying DeSantis needed a "personality transplant" in a campaign ad.
All in all, DeSantis' video didn't seem to be a ringing endorsement of Trump but rather a lesser of two evils sort of scenario where Trump was better than either the Democratic choice of Joe Biden or Trump's remaining Republican rival Nikki Haley. "His endorsement of Trump had a slightly defensive tone, offering more praise for Trump's ideology and sharply criticizing Nikki Haley," Ponce told us. "This raises questions about whether he is positioning himself for the future or leaving room to reactivate his campaign later. Currently, however, he remains the same somewhat uninspiring politician seen throughout his campaign—very bland." It seems like DeSantis is nothing if not consistent.