A video clip of Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt attempting to rally support for Florida governor Ron DeSantis during a 2024 campaign event has gone viral for all the wrong reasons..
Stitt, the first sitting U.S. governor to endorse his Florida counterpart for the upcoming election, appeared at a rally in Tulsa, OK, where he sought to drum up enthusiasm for DeSantis.
During his speech, Stitt proclaimed, “Oklahomans love Ron DeSantis,” resulting in a smatter of approving noise from the crowd,
After a brief pause, Stitt encouraged a more enthusiastic response by saying, “Let’s get an ‘Amen,’ brother,” which prompted a louder chorus of “amen” from the audience.
The viral moment was shared on Twitter, with some drawing parallels to former Florida Governor Jeb Bush’s infamous “please clap” incident during his 2016 presidential campaign.
“Tough night for Ron DeSantis in Oklahoma. Gov Stitt says, ‘Oklahoma loves Ron DeSantis!’ Crowd response [crickets emoji],” One user remarked.
“If ever there was a ‘please clap’ moment in the DeSantis campaign, this was it,” another user added.
The clip, posted by Jackson Lahmeyer, gained over 227,000 views on Twitter.
Tough night for @RonDeSantis in Oklahoma.@GovStitt says, “Oklahoma loves Ron DeSantis!”
Crowd response 🦗🦗🦗
Stitt: Please Clap (@JebBush vibes)
Oklahoma will go for TRUMP 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/r4CvG6h5gU
— Jackson Lahmeyer (@JacksonLahmeyer) June 11, 2023
The incident drew comparisons to Jeb Bush’s plea for applause during the 2016 GOP primaries, where he called on a New Hampshire crowd to applaud his speech critical of Donald Trump.
