Ron DeSantis attributed his success to not becoming a “prisoner in polls” and avoiding leaks when he blasted California Gov. Gavin Newsom on his home turf in “anti-wake” remarks that have become his signature in the offensive went.
Florida Gov. DeSantis’ comments on Sunday took aim at policies enacted by California and other liberal states that he claims have caused bleeding among residents who have immigrated to the Sunshine State.
“I know you’ve got a lot of problems out here, but your governor is very concerned about what we’re doing in Florida, so I thought I had to come over,” DeSantis joked at the beginning of his remarks at the Ronald Reagan Library over 1,300 spectators.
Newsom has specifically targeted Florida in recent years as DeSantis rose to the national spotlight.
The Dem governor came under fire this week for leaving California for a “personal trip” on Friday – two days after he declared a state of emergency after a huge snowstorm that dumped 17 feet of snow. His press office did not reveal where exactly he had traveled, and he was expected to return to California on Sunday.
DeSantis’ tour of the country to promote his new book, including the stop in California, only fuels speculation that he’s getting closer to announcing a presidential candidacy. Florida’s governor takes a trip Friday to the state of Iowa, which is being held as the nation’s first primary.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis visited the deep blue state of California on Sunday for comments on his “anti-wake blueprint for America.”
Accompanying Governor DeSantis for his remarks in California are his wife Casey DeSantis, eldest daughter Madison, 6, and son Mason, 4
The event was sold out, and DeSantis addressed a room of about 1,300 people, along with a book signing of his new memoir, The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival
A big focus of the tour is DeSantis getting the chance to present his “Blueprint for America” - a perfect prelude to a presidential candidacy announcement.
“If I tell you I’m going to do something, I’ll do it,” DeSantis insisted to a sold-out audience. ‘I don’t ramble.’
The Florida governor was in Simi Valley at the Ronald Reagan Library to promote his new book, The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival. He arrived Sunday afternoon with his wife and Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis and their two eldest children Madison, 6, and Mason, 4. Her youngest, Mamie, wasn’t in tow.
DeSantis spent his speech addressing issues that will likely be the cornerstone of a presidential platform — education and parental rights, not bowing to “woke” institutions, and fighting rising crime.
“I get insulted on all of these issues,” DeSantis said, claiming that when he first became governor in 2018, he promised “to leave no meat on that bone.”
He specifically evoked politics in California several times, even mentioning his war with Disney and mentioning how the Golden State handled the “awakened” company differently than Florida.
“I’m not just looking at it through a governor’s lens — I’m looking at it through a father’s lens, and I believe that parents in the state of Florida should be able to send their kids to elementary school without having an agenda, stuffed down their throats,” he said, referring to his Parents’ Rights in Education Act, which he signed last year.
“You shouldn’t teach a second grader that he can choose his gender wrong. And that’s not going to happen in the state of Florida,” he said to loud cheers.
“And I know you have a company in Burbank that had different ideas about it,” he said, citing Disney’s Southern California offices. “But I can tell you one thing — they may have gotten anything they wanted in Florida for the past 60 years, but now there’s a new sheriff in town and we’re not backing down on that.”
The governor last week signed legislation stripping the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the area that includes Walt Disney World near Orlando, of its tax-exempt, self-governing status.
He hailed this as a major win in the “war on waking” after Disney’s then-CEO challenged his bill last year.
Targeting his Democratic counterpart in California Gov. Gavin Newsom, the GOP leader said, “I know you have a lot of issues out here, but your governor is very concerned about what we’re doing in Florida, so I thought I had it done come over’
From left: Madison DeSantis, 6; First Lady Casey DeSantis; Mason DeSantis, 4; and Gov. Ron DeSantis hold their hands on their hearts as they recite the Pledge of Allegiance on Sunday, March 5, 2023 at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif
DeSantis also credited much of his success to his team, claiming he ran a tight ship that avoided leaks and wasn’t overly focused on responding to polls.
“I never looked at a single poll in my entire time as governor. A leader is not bound by polls. A leader will help shape and guide public opinion,” DeSantis said.
“Don’t worry about the polls, don’t worry about the daily news cycle,” he added.
DeSantis said that mentality saw him go from a victory by just 32,000 votes — or 0.4 percent — in 2018 to a victory by a whopping 1.5 million votes in 2022 at the Republican-Democrat turn led Charlie Crist.
“In my opinion, I may have earned 50 percent of the votes, but I have 100 percent of executive powers,” he said.
Regarding his team – DeSantis said he makes sure he is surrounded by people who support his vision.
“We have understood that we need good staff in administration. I made the law clear – If you have any goals other than the best interests of the people of Florida and supporting what we were elected to do, pack your bags and go because we will not tolerate that.
“And you haven’t seen our administration leak like a sieve for four years,” he said. “You haven’t seen much drama or palace entry.”
“What you saw was surgical precision execution, day in and day out, and because we did that, we beat the left, day in and day out.”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11823651/DeSantis-slams-Newsom-California-speech-promotes-anti-woke-agenda.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490 DeSantis slams Newsom in a California speech promoting his “anti-wake” agenda
