As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to lose ground in the 2024 GOP presidential primary race, his campaign continues to look for ways to reach voters who might consider supporting him.
One such strategy involved an interview with entrepreneur Patrick Bet-David on the latter’s podcast. The pair discussed a variety of topics, including some that the DeSantis campaign sought to highlight on social media.
Ron DeSantis is the only Republican candidate that will bring a reckoning to the COVID tyrants in the federal government.
The other candidates don’t care about accountability — that’s why they never talk about it. pic.twitter.com/JBPdatD44L
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) October 30, 2023
Other segments of the interview were notably less flattering, however, including a back-and-forth regarding the boots DeSantis wore during a previous appearance on “Real Time with Bill Maher.”
A host of memes perpetuated speculation that he was wearing lifts inside the boots in an effort to make himself appear taller, and Bet-David addressed the controversy head-on.
“I’m sure your marketing team points out how they’re trying to troll you in the market,” the host said before airing a clip from the HBO program. “I’ve seen you walk with these boots.
Go ahead and play this clip. This on TikTok went viral. It doesn’t have a million views. It doesn’t have, you know, 10 million views. This thing’s got 1.2 million likes.”
DeSantis claimed he was not aware of the meme, prompting the host to offer some context.
“OK, what they’re trying to say with this is that in your boots, you have heels,” he said.
The governor denied the implication, asserting: “No, no, no. Those are just standard off-the-rack Lucchese.”
The interrogation continued with Bet-David asking DeSantis for his height, which the governor said was 5’11”.
Bet-David followed up by asking him why he does not wear “tennis shoes and dress shoes,” to which DeSantis replied that he wears sneakers to the gym.
The awkward segment of the interview continued when the host pulled out a pair of shoes from luxury brand Ferragamo and invited DeSantis to wear them.
“I don’t accept gifts,” the governor shot back. “I can’t accept it. I’m sorry.”
This was not the first time DeSantis has sparked online criticism for his boot choices.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Ian’s destruction along the Florida coast, the governor arrived to survey the damage in a pair of white “go-go” boots that triggered widespread mockery.
