'Lack of professionalism': Internet slams Megyn Kelly debate panel for mocking Ron DeSantis' expressions

TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA: During Wednesday night's fourth and final GOP debate, Megyn Kelly, one of the three debate moderators, asked Florida Governor Ron DeSantis about his electability, while a clip showed his expression.

In response, a male panelist on Kelly's post-debate SiriusXM panel remarked on DeSantis' facial expression, saying, “Look at that face...looks like you shot his dog.”

This remark was made while the clip played, and another panelist could be heard laughing at the comment.

It remains unclear which panelist made the flippant remark.

Kelly had pointed out to DeSantis that despite his campaign and super PAC having spent the most money and having the highest net-worth donors, he was still lagging behind former President Donald Trump.

She also noted that despite DeSantis having had a wave of momentum coming into the race, he had not managed to consolidate the non-Trump field, despite beating his Democratic rival in Florida by 20 points.

What transpired on ‘The Megyn Kelly Show’ following the GOP debate?

Kelly invited a group of panelists to appear with her in the post-debate spin room.

Among those present were NewsNation's politics editor Chris Stirewalt and RealClearPolitics President Tom Bevan.

Additionally, Michael Moynihan from 'The Fifth Column' podcast and Emily Jashinsky from The Federalist appeared virtually.

While posing a question to the post-debate panelists, DeSantis could be seen in a clip that played simultaneously expressing disapproval towards Kelly’s questioning of the mediocre poll results and suggesting it should not be taken seriously.

He came back with, “Voters actually make these decisions, not pundits and pollsters.”

“I'm sick of hearing about these polls,” he continued. 

On the hot mic, Kelly can be heard commenting, “You bet.”

DeSantis continued, “I remember those polls in November of 2022, they said there was going to be a big red wave, it was going to be monumental and that crashed and burned.” 

“The one place it didn't crash and burn was the state of Florida,” he concluded. 

Kelly expressed on the post-debate panel her difficulty in figuring out how to ask DeSantis about his issues with connecting with voters.

She admitted that she had been contemplating for months on what could potentially prevent him from succeeding in his political career, aside from Trump being the major player for the GOP in 2024 and beyond.

“I mean I asked myself for months what is it that's going to stand in the way of this person making it other than Trump - Trump, obviously is the big thing - and I will tell you for Ron DeSantis I struggled a lot because I really wanted to go with his failure to connect with voters,” she revealed on her show.

Kelly mentioned that she faced a lot of challenges in constructing a question without it being biased.

“You can't craft a question like that without being very opinionated, you know, it's like me being like, ‘You're not a retail politics person! People don't like you in the way that you need,'” the former Fox News host said.

Stirewalt interjected, “You're lame.”

“Yeah, you're lame,” Kelly said. “You've got to stick to facts and his numbers are just so dreadful.”

Internet calls it 'unprofessional' to throw Ron DeSantis under the bus

People on X reacted to the clip of a panelist on ‘The Megyn Kelly Show’ caught on hot mic remarking on DeSantis’ expression to the moderator’s questioning to that of someone shooting his dog.

One X user said, “What a complete and utter lack of professionalism."

Another user wrote, "Stuff like this irritates me because discussing mannerisms and nervous ticks are inconsequential to me, as a voter, because this is a monumental election. It's too important! Who cares that he looks awkward at times, can he beat Trump and get the job done? Maybe Meghan Kelly would prefer Trump, who talked about her menstrual cycle and couldn't answer the question, what is a woman."

Another user stated, "What people don't get...what some see as awkward emotional expression is actually DeSantis absorbing and processing information. He's taking in the question thinking and formulating a response...no knee jerk reply...just measured intelligent answer...a Presidential trait."

"I was thinking he looked tough, natural - not trying to fake smile. People are just mean, YIKES!" one user remarked.

Another X user said, "Disappointing. It was a good debate and I’m one of many who defended her against Trump’s vile attacks."

One user tweeted, "These people's interest in the Governor's appearance is odd and it's hard for me to take them seriously as pundits. Especially since these same people would take offense if anyone mentioned how they looked."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.