Remember When: Trump Suggests Florida Governor Groomed Underage Girls

A heckler at Governor Ron DeSantis' Manatee County press conference had some thought-provoking comments.

July 28, 2025

Image: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis smiles for photographers.

Images purportedly of Ron DeSantis grooming high school girls resurfaced Thursday after a heckler called him a pedophile. Photo by Gage Skidmore via Flickr

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What has the world come to? A guy can't even eulogize his wrestling icon, a self-proclaimed racist, without someone reminding everyone that his friend Donald Trump suggested he groomed high schoolers.

Governor Ron DeSantis was speaking Thursday at a Manatee County press conference about Florida's Department of Government Efficiency when a man began shouting at him from the crowd about his involvement with the "humanitarian crisis" being described at Alligator Alcatraz. DeSantis was praising Hulk Hogan after he died Thursday when the heckler began his rant.

"So, Alligator Alcatraz — is that your fucking legacy?" the man shouted.

"Hey, stop, stop," DeSantis responded. "Get outta here. Get outta here. Get outta here."

"You bow down to a fucking pedophile!" the man shouted. "You are a fucking pedophile! All of you are fucking Nazis! Fuck you all! Fucking Nazis."

The man yelled with both his middle fingers in the air as two police officers escorted him out.

The heckler got us thinking: Does anyone remember when Donald Trump in 2023 suggested DeSantis groomed high school girls in Georgia?

Reflecting on the moment, one X user wrote, "Yes, he bows down to a pedophile. Because he is one. Go dig into his time as a 'teacher' and how he enjoyed going to parties with his female students. Trump even called him out for grooming teen girls. How fucking bad are you if TRUMP calls you out?"

Yes, he bows down to a pedophile.

Because he is one. Go dig into his time as a 'teacher' and how he enjoyed going to parties with his female students. Trump even called him out for grooming teen girls. How fucking bad are you if TRUMP calls you out? pic.twitter.com/Qddd6KJkGE
— GraceLynn (@FullOfGraceUS) July 24, 2025

She posted a widely circulated photo of what appears to be a young DeSantis with multiple girls draped over him. The post had 14,800 views at the time of publication.

The New York Times' and Vanity Fair readers may also remember, as the outlets published stories in 2022 and 2023, respectively, after Trump posted the now-resurfaced photos on Truth Social. The stories recount DeSantis' time as a teacher at the Darlington School, where he taught for a year, according to the New York Times.

Trump going heavy on the "DeSantis is a pedophile" stuff today. pic.twitter.com/LS2zRpke3z
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) February 7, 2023

Several students told Times they recalled Mr. DeSantis being a frequent presence at parties with seniors.

"As an 18-year-old, I remember thinking. What are you doing here, dude?" one former student told the outlet.

When she was a senior, she found a memo on a teacher's desk reminding teachers that it was inappropriate to fraternize with students, even after they graduated, according to the outlet.

"That's got to be about Mr. DeSantis!" she said. "That's what I remember everyone saying."

B. Scott McLendon joined New Times staff in 2025. A national award-winning journalist, he previously covered education, crime, courts, and local government for daily newspapers in Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas. He holds a bachelor's in journalism from Troy University.

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