There is no doubt that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is trouble for Donald Trump. As the world knows by now, Trump’s home was raided by the FBI, and the question of whether there will be an indictment is not if…the question is when. So Trump has a lot of problems when considering running for president again, and one of those problems is Ron DeSantis.

DeSantis has a lot that Trump doesn’t. DeSantis is more of an “everyman”, he is definitely NOT a billionaire, and still is carrying balances on his student loans. DeSantis is just 43, 33 years younger than Trump. Then there’s the issue that DeSantis isn’t outwardly cruel or a pig. I doubt there are any adult film stars that DeSantis have paid off. In fact, DeSantis’s wife had breast cancer and DeSantis stood by her the whole time. When Melania Trump was in the hospital for “kidney surgery”, Trump visited her once.

That said, DeSantis knows that Trump sells. MAGA sells, and it works. And it appears that DeSantis is actually taking on some of Trump’s mannerisms to be more Trump-like.

First, people noticed that DeSantis was standing like Trump. You know the Trump stance:

You just can’t miss it:

Do you know anyone you stands like this, seriously?

Well, take a look at how DeSantis has been standing…

And DeSantis has been making this play for a while. Look at this ad he made when he was running for governor, and how he basically acts like Trump is a God, even to his young children:

Now, people have noticed that DeSantis is taking Trump’s hand movements. From his hand gestures (including the classics: “accordion hands” and the “pinch” of thumb and forefinger), to the way he faces the cameras. He has become a mini-Trump.

Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a professor of history and Italian studies at New York University and an expert at authoritarianism, says this is fairly common. Ben-Ghiat says, “Men with political ambitions learn quickly that mimicking the leader, in word and deed, can win them a place in the new political world the leader is creating. They learn that the leader rewards public expressions of loyalty and blind devotion. Imitation truly is the best form of flattering an authoritarian or authoritarian wannabe’s giant ego.”

She continied, “The Italian dictator Benito Mussolini set the modern template for authoritarianism. His surrogates and proxies repeated his hyper-masculine performances and bombastic oratory, starting with his son-in-law, Galeazzo Ciano, who mimicked Il Duce’s chin thrusts, earning the nickname “the Jaw.” “

Being compared to Mussolini is not a good thing.

Regardless, take a look at these videos, and just how shocking the similiarities are:

Is Ron DeSantis copying Trump? pic.twitter.com/FGGFlLmQpH

— The Recount (@therecount) October 21, 2021

YIKES!

Even right-wing networks have called it out:

It’s truly pathetic. But, it seems to be working. Four years ago no one really knew who Ron DeSantis was. Now people are talking about him being the next president. And with Trump possibly facing an indictment that could end with him never being allowed to run for public office again, a President DeSantis is a real possibility.