Republican Rick Scott gave Charlie Crist, his Democratic opponent in the Florida governor's race, a gift earlier this week when he refused to take the debate stage after Crist placed a small electric fan at his feet. But even though Scott had set himself up as a petty politico, Crist still had to play his hand, and he played it amazingly well, innocently asking the debate's moderators, "Are we really going to debate about a fan? Or are we going to talk about education and the environment and the future of our state? I mean, really." Later, when Scott joined the debate and the fan came up as a topic, Crist followed that up with another gee-whiz beaut: "Is there anything wrong with being comfortable?"
The crowd ate it up. But can Crist ride Fangate all the way to the governor's mansion? His campaign certainly hopes so, with a new fundraising pitch that cheekily refers to his debate coup:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Today's political cartoons - March 8, 2025Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - trade wars, healthcare costs, and more
-
Marbled tea eggs recipeThe Week Recommends With a beautiful exterior, these eggs are also marked by their soft yolk
-
The Washington Post: kowtowing to Trump?Talking Point The newspaper's opinion editor has handed in his notice following edict from Jeff Bezos
-
Trump eases Mexico, Canada tariffs again as markets slidespeed read The president suspended some of the 25% tariffs he imposed on Mexican and Canadian imports
-
Trump tells Cabinet they are in charge of layoffs, not MuskSpeed Read The White House has faced mounting complaints about DOGE's sweeping cuts
-
Rep. Sylvester Turner dies, weeks after joining HouseSpeed Read The former Houston mayor and longtime state legislator left behind a final message for Trump: 'Don't mess with Medicaid'
-
Trump pauses Ukraine intelligence sharingSpeed Read The decision is intended to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into peace negotiations with Vladimir Putin
-
Supreme Court rules against Trump on aid freezeSpeed Read The court rejected the president's request to freeze nearly $2 billion in payments for foreign humanitarian work
-
Trump touts early wins in partisan speech to CongressSpeed Read The president said he is 'just getting started' with his sweeping changes to immigration, the economy and foreign policy
-
Trudeau blasts Trump's 'very dumb' trade warSpeed Read Retaliatory measures have been announced by America's largest trading partners following Trump's tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China
-
Trump pauses military aid to Ukraine after public spatSpeed Read Trump and J.D. Vance berated Volodymyr Zelenskyy for what they saw as insufficient gratitude
