Trump makes it known he's very impressed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' physique

(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

published 27 November 2019

President Trump admitted on Tuesday night that he was wrong about something — and that something is the amount of muscle on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).

In the middle of his rally in Sunrise, Florida, Trump asked several Republican officials to join him onstage, including DeSantis. He first congratulated DeSantis, calling him "one of the most popular governors anywhere in the country," and then things took a turn.

Trump said that whenever he would see DeSantis on television, "I always thought Ron was a little bit heavy." But then, one day, he gave DeSantis a pat on the shoulder, and was so taken aback he exclaimed, "Whoa! That's strong. That's a lot of muscle there. My hand didn't sink in like it does with a lot of people. And then I see him without a shirt one day, and this guy is strong. He's not fat. That's all power. That's all muscle. I want to tell you that."

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Trump then shared the advice he imparted on DeSantis. "I said, 'Ron, you're one of the few I say it to: Don't walk around with a jacket all the time. Take it off.' He's a great guy, he's a tough guy, he's a brilliant guy, and he's our governor." The South Florida Sun-Sentinel asked DeSantis' communications director for some clarification on when Trump would have been with a shirtless DeSantis. In a text, Helen Ferre said Trump meant to say he saw DeSantis sans jacket, not shirt.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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