Ron DeSantis endorses Kemi Badenoch for Conservative Party leader - but makes one embarrassing error

As we near ever closer to finding out who will succeed Rishi Sunak as the next leader of the Conservative Party, one of the final four candidates – shadow home secretary Kemi Badenoch – has received a bizarre endorsement from Florida governor and failed Republican presidential nominee Ron DeSantis.

Two of the current shortlist of candidates – comprising Badenoch, ex-immigration minister Robert Jenrick, former security minister Tom Tugendhat and shadow home secretary James Cleverly – will be eliminated by fellow Tory MPs on Tuesday (October 8) and Wednesday (October 9), before the remaining hopefuls are put to party members.

The winner will then be announced on November 2 just three days before we find out who will be the next president of the United States.

As a result, Badenoch and others have been clamouring for endorsements and ways to make their case to Conservatives that they are the one to get the party back into government in five years’ time and the North West Essex MP was pleased to share DeSantis’s message of support on Sunday (October 6).

In the clip, the US politician says: “Greetings from across the pond. I’m pleased to endorse Kemi Badenoch for Conservative Party leader.

“She and I worked on a great trade agreement between Florida and the United Kingdom. She has a commitment to conservative principles, she’s strong, she’s courageous, and she will be an inspiration for conservatives not just in the United Kingdom, but all across the world.”

DeSantis then goes on to reference a quote from former President Ronald Reagan about “bold colours” and not “pales”, adding: “Kemi flies the flag of bold colours, just like we do in Florida, just like you will do again in the United Kingdom.”

Sharing the video and responding to the endorsement, Badenoch said it was a “wonderful message” from the Republican.

“It builds on my work as Trade Secretary with UK allies across the world. They know the challenges we face are not unique and it’s great to show I have the relationships and support outside the UK as well as inside it, if elected to lead.

“Our party needs renewal and that includes rebuilding our overseas networks,” she wrote.

Except, in yet another unfortunate blunder for the gaffe-prone DeSantis, the politician incorrectly pronounces the Tory candidate’s surname as “bad-enoch”, rather than “bay-dee-knock”.

As she explained in a much-criticised video taking aim at David Tennant – which also featured the memeworthy line about the Tories needing someone “who is not afraid of Doctor Who” – “it’s not Bad-enoch”.

“There’s no ‘bad’ in my name. I just want people to be clear on that,” she said.

The mispronunciation from DeSantis is all the more awkward given the pair met face-to-face in April last year, when Badenoch was business secretary and the Florida governor praised her for taking on “the woke”.

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