While Donald Trump is the Republican party’s only official candidate for president for 2024 (so far), his most likely competitor for the GOP nomination is Ron DeSantis. And if that happens, he’s going to need to come up with a lot better material than “Ron DeSanctimonious” to take out the competition — but Seth Meyers isn’t worried.
On Thursday night’s “A Closer Look” segment, Meyers talked about the many similarities between Trump and DeSantis, right down to the bizarre hand movements they make when they’re speaking. “What is this thing they both do with their hands going out and then back in over and over again, like they’re playing an invisible…,” Meyers wanted to know. “They both look like flightless birds who aren’t willing to give up on the dream.”
Another way in which the two politicians are similar is in how they let stories they’ve heard on Fox News shape their political agendas. Take, for example, the whole gas versus electric stove debate that has been going on. It’s something that both Trump and DeSantis have brought up at recent press conferences, with the latter going so far as to eliminate any tax on gas stoves.
“They want to go after the gas stoves,” DeSantis said of… whoever he thinks “they” are. “We want you to be able to buy those.” Except, as Meyers pointed out, no one in Florida seems to give a sh*t about this conversation, as a mere eight percent of homes in the Sunshine State cook with gas. Which just happens to be the lowest rate of gas stove usage in the country.
“Think about how dumb that is,” Meyers said. “He wants a tax break for a thing his own residents don’t use just because it will make the libs mad. Also, a tax break for gas stoves is SO boring. At least when Trump does the culture wars, he goes all out: ‘Antifa is coming to your house to take away your gas stove and kill Santa Claus.’”
It’s the subtle difference in approach that has Meyers pretty excited to see what happens if Trump and DeSantis really do go head-to-head for the GOP’s nomination:
I have no idea what’s going to happen in the GOP primary, and I’ve certainly been wrong before. But I’m just not sure DeSantis has what it takes. If you hired the world’s greatest scientist to build someone in a lab for Trump to make fun of, you couldn’t do better. I mean, he’s shorter than Trump; he stands weird; he’s got those fancy little white boots. His full name is Ronald Dion DeSantis — that’s 100 percent true. I’m not saying DeSantis won’t win, but Trump’s gonna have a field day with this dork.
‘Many people are saying Ron Celine Dion DeSantis likes to wear big white go-go boots so he seems taller than he is. He’s a very short man. It’s very sad. And that way he stands with his chest, puffed out like a pigeon who stole a French fry.’
You can watch the full segment above.
