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‘Gone’ DeSantis? Florida governor is shedding pounds as he explores a White House run by taking book tour to early primary states
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has slimmed down, looking leaner this week in Iowa since even his inauguration in January
- On Thursday, Puck news speculated he could be taking Ozempic, while a Florida politics insider said he was simply cutting carbs and desserts
- There’s a political tradition of presidential hopefuls shedding pounds before announcing a run
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Just call him ‘Gone’ DeSantis.
The Florida governor was spotted in Iowa last week looking leaner than he has in recent years, even since his January inauguration.
DeSantis is making all the moves one would to launch a White House bid later this year.
He just released a book, The Courage to Be Free, which is taking him to early primary states.
And potential presidential hopefuls also tend to lose weight.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is cutting a slimmer figure as of late. On the left is DeSantis in December 2019, versus an appearance last week in Iowa
DeSantis observers even say they can see a difference in DeSantis’ weight from his January inauguration (pictured) and appearances on his current book tour
The Florida governor is photographed in June 2019 (left) and then in Davenport, Iowa last week
As an example, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stoked speculation he would jump in the 2024 GOP primary after becoming noticeably thinner since leaving office.
DeSantis’ diet has worked so quickly that on Thursday Puck News speculated that he could be taking Ozempic, the diabetes-turned-weight loss drug that celebrities are turning to to quickly shed pounds.
‘He’s a shell of his former self,’ one Tallahassee insider told Puck.
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Peter Schorsch, the publisher of Florida Politics, wrote Thursday on Twitter that DeSantis is not taking Ozempic ‘even if the rest of Tally and Miami is.’
‘Word on the street is Ronnie D. has dropped the carbs – no breads, no desserts!’ Schorsch wrote.
It means Donald Trump may lose one of his lines of attack during the campaign.
The former President called DeSantis ‘fat’ and ‘whiny’ and took credit for him being elected governor, New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman wrote in her book Confidence Man.
That might be a good political decision for DeSantis to prevent further mockery after the Daily Beast reported Thursday that during a flight from Tallahassee to Washington, D.C. in March 2019, the governor ate chocolate pudding using three of his fingers.
DeSantis made his Iowa debut last Friday and longtime observers noticed he was looking slimmer than ever
‘He would sit in meetings and eat in front of people,’ a former DeSantis staffer also told the Beast. Adding, ‘always like a starving animal who has never eaten before … getting s**t everywhere.’
Puck also reported that staffers would lure DeSantis into meetings with cupcakes.
And he’s a big fan of fried chicken from Zaxby’s, a popular southern fast food chain, Puck said.
DeSantis may have also been inspired to slim down after hearing that former President Donald Trump – who’s made DeSantis his favorite political piñata as of late – was spitballing the idea of nicknaming him ‘meatball Ron.’
It’s a Trump tradition to nickname all of his political rivals.
En route to Davenport, Iowa on Monday, Trump explained to reporters why he decided to stick with Ron ‘DeSanctimonious’ instead.
‘I don’t use that name. It’s used by other people. I don’t like that name, I think it’s too crude,’ Trump said, according to the Daily Caller. ‘I’m a very non-crude individual.’
