Millionaire Ron DeSantis was mocked for quoting Rich Men North of Richmond as the song was cheered at the first Republican presidential debate.
The Florida governor was asked about the Oliver Anthony country hit and why he thought it had become so popular in conservative circles.
“Our country is in decline. This decline is not inevitable. It’s a choice. We need to send Joe Biden back to his basement and reverse American decline,” he said at the debate on Wednesday night.
“And it starts with understanding we must reverse Bidenomics so that middle-class families have a chance to succeed again. We cannot succeed as a country if you are working hard and cannot afford groceries, a car, or a new home while Hunter Biden can make hundreds of thousands of dollars on lousy paintings. That is wrong.”
And he added: “We also cannot succeed when Congress spends trillions and trillions of dollars. Those rich men north of Richmond have put us in this situation.
“Finally, we need to lower gas prices. We need to open up all energy production. We will be energy-dominant again in this country. I showed it could be done in the state of Florida. I pledged to you as your president we will get the job done and I will not let you down.”
X users were quick to poke fun at Mr DeSantis, who has a net worth of more than $1.17m according to a 2022 state disclosure, for his answer to the question.
“Ron DeSantis has no clue what Rich men north of Richmond means. He is so out of touch,” wrote one person on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
And another added: “DeSantis out the gate with “Joe Biden blah blah waaa waa basement blah Hunter waa waa rich men north of richmond are to blame heehaw.”
“Instead of asking DeSantis what Rich Men North of Richmond means they might as well have had him sing it,” wrote another user.
And another person wrote: “Fox tees up first question with ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ and DeSantis name drops Hunter Biden in his first answer. Gotta love this clown show.”
