Ron DeSantis posed with a handmade snowflake. It had the word 'fascist' written all over it.

• Ron DeSantis was given a framed snowflake at an event in Iowa, where he was promoting his new book.
• DeSantis posed for a photo, grinning while holding the framed snowflake.

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida was photographed posing with a cutout of a white snowflake in Iowa. The catch? Every branch of the snowflake had the word "fascist" hidden in the design.

Steven Goffman, who describes himself as an audio freelancer on his Twitter profile, tweeted out the photos of DeSantis on Friday night.

"At a Republican political rally in Davenport, Iowa today someone gave @GovRonDeSantis and @IAGovernor Kim Reynolds a handmade 'snowflake' with the word 'Fascist' secretly embedded in it," Goffman tweeted.

A Twitter user with the ID IowaCaptive tweeted on Friday that one of their friends had made the snowflake for DeSantis.

"My friend makes snowflakes to give to politicians who come to Iowa - there are special messages for odious Republicans - please look at the snowflake carefully," IowaCaptive tweeted.

Iowa Captive did not name the person who made the snowflake in their tweet. The Twitter user did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

DeSantis was at an event at the Rhythm City Casino Resort in Davenport on Friday to promote his new book when he was given the snowflake, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

At the event, DeSantis said that Florida is "where woke goes to die" and vowed to "never surrender to the woke mob," per the Tampa Bay Times.

At press time, Goffman's tweet had been viewed more than 2.8 million times. Iowa Captive's tweet had been viewed more than 1.4 million times.

The photo of DeSantis prompted comments from both sides of the political spectrum.

"If the snowflake fits," tweeted Bob Duff, a Democratic state senator from Connecticut.

"Lmao. DeSantis got trolled in Iowa. Read the snowflake," tweeted Laura Loomer, a pro-Trump, right-wing commentator.

As a slang term, "snowflake" is often used to insult left-leaning people. The supporters of right-wing figures like Trump have been known to use it as a derogatory term for their political enemies.

This isn't the first time DeSantis has been branded a fascist. In a February speech, Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost, a Florida Democrat, accused DeSantis of launching "a full-scale fascist attack" on the New College of Florida. Frost also accused DeSantis of stacking the school's "board of trustees with ultra-conservative lapdogs."

DeSantis is making six new appointments to the New College of Florida's school board, a public liberal-arts college in the state. These new appointees are conservative DeSantis allies, The New York Times reported in February.

Representatives for DeSantis did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment outside regular business hours.