Remember “Meatball” Ron DeSantis? For a brief moment in 2023, it looked like he was in with a chance of snatching the 2024 Republican presidential nomination from Donald Trump. But political gravity soon reasserted itself when it became apparent he was a void of charisma, personally repellant, and had the aura of an 80s slasher villain.
DeSantis was eventually forced to concede and endorse Trump for President, praising through gritted teeth a man who’d called him “meatball” for months, among other insults directed at him and his wife. He then slunk off to Florida, and it’s said “he’s completely crashed to the ground“.
As a measure of how true that is, check out DeSantis’ appearance at WWE’s Saturday Night’s Main Event at Tampa over the Memorial Day weekend. DeSantis turned up at the ringside to wave to the crowd, doubtless hoping for a warm reception.
But the WWE fans weren’t about to give it to him. Instead of cheers he was met with a chorus of angry boos and a raucous repeated chant of “YOU SUCK!”. Well, he does, so this crowd was definitely on the ball here.:
Ron DeSantis with that heel heat at #WWE #SNME pic.twitter.com/JmlmcDwz19
— Bill Neville (@BillNeville87) May 24, 2025
He got what he deserved
This is objectively very funny, but there is a dark side to this hatred. After all, this is firm evidence of the fate of any Republican who stands up to Trump, even if, as in DeSantis’ case, he attempted to attack him from the right.
As Mike Pence will no doubt testify, if you’re a Republican who becomes a MAGA hate figure, you now have few political friends. Democrats already hated your guts and thought you were a monster, and now MAGA thinks you’re a spineless, treacherous coward. Nobody likes you anymore, so it’s unsurprising that a giant crowd of all political persuasions can unite to conclude “YOU SUCK”.
Crowd boos & chants "You Suck" at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis before WWE Saturday Night's Main Event in Tampa.#SNME pic.twitter.com/cAoLFNyfBu
— PWUnlimited (@PWUnlimited) May 25, 2025
Where DeSantis goes from here is anyone’s guess, though his political days may be numbered. His second term as Governor will conclude in Jan. 2027, and, after the humiliation of being dogwalked by Trump, it seems unlikely he’ll pursue office again.
That means he’ll likely follow the usual path for an out-of-work former politician – being parachuted into a cozy and lucrative position on some corporate board and thoroughly milked for his political connections. Let’s hope that’ll be the last we hear of him.
