The audience attending the gubernatorial debate between Republican Ron DeSantis and Democrat Charlie Crist became so noisy and disruptive that the moderator had to ask them to quiet down.
Whether they were pro-Desantis, pro-Crist, or somewhere in between, from the debate’s outset on Monday night, the audience routinely disrupted the conversation with boos, cheers, laughter, and applause almost every time a candidate would speak or offer a rebuttal. The behavior became so persistent that the moderator eventually scolded the audience to stop.
“I’m going to stop right now and ask that our audience please stop. We’re not going to get through all the questions and we have a lot of ground to cover, so please, please that needs to be the end of the applause,” she said.
The audience quieted down for a moment but returned to its disruptive behavior in a short time, so much so that the moderator ultimately gave up, transforming it into a basic circus. Below are just a few examples:
DESANTIS: “Charlie Crist has voted with Joe Biden 100% of the time.” pic.twitter.com/dpZoJYBScJ
— The National Desk (@TND) October 24, 2022
Gov. Ron DeSantis: “The only worn-out old donkey I’m looking to put out to pasture is Charlie Crist.” pic.twitter.com/IMDGZyv1bj
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) October 24, 2022
Charlie Crist attempts to paint Gov. Ron DeSantis as “the shutdown guy” immediately after DeSantis talks about how he rejected Crist’s calls to shut the state down. pic.twitter.com/0XoEbgq4Pg
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) October 24, 2022
Governor DeSantis SLAMS @CharlieCrist for soliciting campaign donations from #HurricaneIan victims 🔥 pic.twitter.com/YENVK8eqIE
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 #FloridaStrong (@DeSantisWarRoom) October 24, 2022
Crist’s supporters are deeply outnumbered here, and they have settled on a strategy of compensating for that fact by being extraordinarily obnoxious and disruptive.
Not sure that will play well with independents and swing voters!
— Josh Hammer (@josh_hammer) October 24, 2022
