Moderator Scolds Noisy, Disruptive Crowd as Ron DeSantis Debates Charlie Crist

Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida, and Charlie Crist, Democratic gubernatorial candidate f
Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Paul Bois

The audience attending the gubernatorial debate between Republican Ron DeSantis and Democrat Charlie Crist became so noisy and disruptive that the moderator had to ask them to quiet down.

Whether they were pro-Desantis, pro-Crist, or somewhere in between, from the debate’s outset on Monday night, the audience routinely disrupted the conversation with boos, cheers, laughter, and applause almost every time a candidate would speak or offer a rebuttal. The behavior became so persistent that the moderator eventually scolded the audience to stop.

“I’m going to stop right now and ask that our audience please stop. We’re not going to get through all the questions and we have a lot of ground to cover, so please, please that needs to be the end of the applause,” she said.

The audience quieted down for a moment but returned to its disruptive behavior in a short time, so much so that the moderator ultimately gave up, transforming it into a basic circus. Below are just a few examples:

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