Why Is Ron DeSantis Gasping For Air In This Viral Video?

There’s something terribly wrong with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), and that’s not the set up for a punch line.

DeSantis was speaking to a group of people recently about manufacturing in the Sunshine State, but as you’ll notice in the video, he seems to be having trouble breathing. Matter of fact, he appears to be gasping for air and on the verge of tears at one point. Take a look:

You may recall that the Florida governor went missing for two weeks. When he finally made a public appearance, a combative DeSantins told reporters he’d accompanied his wife for treatment of her cancer:

“A lot of people, particularly people who have gone through breast cancer treatment, the notion that would be considered a vacation, I think is offensive to a lot of those folks.”

The larger problem, however, is that DeSantis pulled a Houdini right as cases of COVID-19 were exploding across Florida and members of his administration tried desperately to pretend everything was under control.

So the video of the governor trying to breathe was certain to set off a lot of controversy and commentary on social media, where people wondered if perhaps DeSantis had contracted a case of coronavirus but didn’t want to let anyone know.