{"id":51138,"date":"2023-03-12T16:20:50","date_gmt":"2023-03-12T23:20:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=51138"},"modified":"2023-03-12T16:20:50","modified_gmt":"2023-03-12T23:20:50","slug":"iowa-greets-desantis-with-god-tier-trolling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2023\/03\/12\/iowa-greets-desantis-with-god-tier-trolling\/","title":{"rendered":"Iowa Greets DeSantis with God-Tier Trolling"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s always been a rite of passage for any politician hoping to become president to make a pilgrimage to Iowa in the dead of winter.\u00a0 And Ron DeSantis was no exception this weekend when he began that journey in Davenport, IA \u2013 one of the towns straddling the Mississippi River comprising the Quad-Cities (Moline &amp; Rock Island in Illinois and Davenport &amp; Bettendorf in Iowa).\u00a0 That\u2019s where I grew up.<\/p>\n<p><em>[SIDEBAR: Moline is the corporate headquarters of John Deere.]<\/em><\/p>\n<p>DeSantis was hoping to get a warm welcome, and it seems the right-wing GQP base accommodated him.\u00a0 As we all are familiar with, part of that presidential campaign ritual requires candidates to mingle with the crowd and press the flesh of the attendees.\u00a0 And Ronnie was no exception.<\/p>\n<p>On that cold February Saturday, DeSantis accompanied by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds was absolutely delighted when an attendee gifted both of them with handcrafted snowflake silhouettes.\u00a0 They giddily grinned from ear-to-ear for the cameras while displaying their bespoke snowflakes.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-51141\" src=\"https:\/\/www.7thstep.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/DeSantis_Fascist-Snowflake_Iowa_Maker_1_Bord-300x236.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"236\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/DeSantis_Fascist-Snowflake_Iowa_Maker_1_Bord-300x236.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/DeSantis_Fascist-Snowflake_Iowa_Maker_1_Bord-150x118.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/DeSantis_Fascist-Snowflake_Iowa_Maker_1_Bord-768x603.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/DeSantis_Fascist-Snowflake_Iowa_Maker_1_Bord.jpg 970w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-51142\" src=\"https:\/\/www.7thstep.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/DeSantis_Fascist-Snowflake_Iowa_Maker_2_Bord-300x259.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"259\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/DeSantis_Fascist-Snowflake_Iowa_Maker_2_Bord-300x259.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/DeSantis_Fascist-Snowflake_Iowa_Maker_2_Bord-150x129.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/DeSantis_Fascist-Snowflake_Iowa_Maker_2_Bord-768x663.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/DeSantis_Fascist-Snowflake_Iowa_Maker_2_Bord.jpg 882w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>But as the saying goes: <em>The Devil is in the details.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>If you look closely at the snowflake, you\u2019ll note the mastermind creator has craftily and cryptically embedded mirror images of the word <strong><em>\u201cFASCIST\u201d<\/em><\/strong> that form each of the snowflake&#8217;s six dendrites.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-51139\" src=\"https:\/\/www.7thstep.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/DeSantis_Fascist-Snowflake_Iowa_Crop-269x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"269\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/DeSantis_Fascist-Snowflake_Iowa_Crop-269x300.jpg 269w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/DeSantis_Fascist-Snowflake_Iowa_Crop-134x150.jpg 134w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/DeSantis_Fascist-Snowflake_Iowa_Crop.jpg 555w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 269px) 100vw, 269px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-51140\" src=\"https:\/\/www.7thstep.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/DeSantis_Fascist-Snowflake_Iowa_C-U_Bord.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"602\" height=\"516\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/DeSantis_Fascist-Snowflake_Iowa_C-U_Bord.jpg 602w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/DeSantis_Fascist-Snowflake_Iowa_C-U_Bord-300x257.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/DeSantis_Fascist-Snowflake_Iowa_C-U_Bord-150x129.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 602px) 100vw, 602px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This incomparable trolling became an instant viral sensation in the Twitterverse when someone with the <em>nom de plume<\/em> <em>\u201cMidlifeMisfit\u201d<\/em> or <em>\u201cIowaCaptive\u201d<\/em> (not sure how Twitter handles handles) Tweeted out the first photo \u2013 which has now garnered over <strong><em>1.4 MILLION<\/em><\/strong> views!<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">My friend makes snowflakes to give to politicians who come to Iowa &#8211; there are special messages for odious Republicans- please look at the snowflake carefully \ud83e\udd23\ud83d\ude09 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Iilha9Wxn1\">pic.twitter.com\/Iilha9Wxn1<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; IowaCaptive (@MidlifeMisfit) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MidlifeMisfit\/status\/1634267887744569353?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 10, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>It got even wider coverage when <em>Washington Post<\/em> reporter Steve Goffman joined in the fun of sharing this masterpiece \u2013 gaining over <strong><em>2.7<\/em><\/strong> <strong><em>MILLION<\/em><\/strong> views!<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">At a Republican political rally in Davenport, Iowa today someone gave <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GovRonDeSantis?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@GovRonDeSantis<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IAGovernor?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@IAGovernor<\/a> Kim Reynolds a handmade \u201csnowflake\u201d with the word &quot;Fascist&quot; secretly embedded in it. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/as8UN3WRsp\">pic.twitter.com\/as8UN3WRsp<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Steven Goffman (@SteveGoffman) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SteveGoffman\/status\/1634358622774861824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 11, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve put together a handy-dandy GIF of the pics I\u2019ve seen of it for your viewing pleasure:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-51144\" src=\"https:\/\/www.7thstep.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/DeSantis_Fascist_Snowflake.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"544\" height=\"428\" \/><\/p>\n<p>And someone at TikTok created a cute snow globe version of Ronnie enjoying his custom craft snowflake:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-51145\" src=\"https:\/\/www.7thstep.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/DeSantis_Fascist-Snowflake_TikTok.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"403\" height=\"431\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I haven&#8217;t found any identifying information WRT the lady in glasses who posed with DeSantis and Reynolds for the photos.\u00a0 She could be the creator &#8211; but I just don&#8217;t know.\u00a0 Then again, she might have decided to remain anonymous.\u00a0 (And given the type of people the GQP draws, that\u2019s probably a wise decision.)<\/p>\n<p>But I am hoping to see some T-shirts that incorporate her clever <strong><em>\u201cFascist Snowflake\u201d<\/em><\/strong> theme \u2013 especially because it\u2019s so fitting.\u00a0 Hell, even I threw together a mockup for a book cover that I\u2019d likely buy:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-51143\" src=\"https:\/\/www.7thstep.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/DeSantis-Is-Fascist-Snowflake_R-b.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"445\" height=\"575\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/DeSantis-Is-Fascist-Snowflake_R-b.jpg 445w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/DeSantis-Is-Fascist-Snowflake_R-b-232x300.jpg 232w, https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/DeSantis-Is-Fascist-Snowflake_R-b-116x150.jpg 116w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 445px) 100vw, 445px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In all honesty, Ronnie is a fascist at heart, and he truly frightens me.\u00a0 But in the meantime \u2013 let the fun begin!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s always been a rite of passage for any politician hoping to become president to make a pilgrimage to Iowa in the dead of winter.\u00a0 And Ron DeSantis was no exception this weekend when he began that journey in Davenport, IA \u2013 one of the towns straddling the Mississippi River comprising the Quad-Cities (Moline &amp; <a href='https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2023\/03\/12\/iowa-greets-desantis-with-god-tier-trolling\/' class='excerpt-more'>[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[5342,5344,4415,5124,5343],"class_list":["post-51138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-fascist","tag-gov-kim-reynolds","tag-iowa","tag-ron-desantis","tag-snowflake","category-5-id","post-seq-1","post-parity-odd","meta-position-corners","fix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51138\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}