Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis heavily criticized safety restrictions put in place in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and Democrats during his recent speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
“Florida led when it counted. We led early on when the weight of the world was bearing down on our shoulders,” Gov. DeSantis said in his address.
“We understand what it means to be a leader. Not just be a politician that twists in the wind but be willing to make tough decisions.”
DeSantis continued, criticizing other countries, including Canada and Australia, and their Covid-19 measures.
“I really believe had Florida not led the way, this country could look like Canada or Australia. We sometimes take freedom for granted. You should not do that over the last two years.”
In his speech, DeSantis also lashed out at President Biden’s chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and stated that the president “hates Florida” and that he “refused to let this state descend into some kind of Faucian dystopia.”
DeSantis’ address fueled speculation that he may be eyeing a future presidential run by blasting President Biden and the mainstream media for what he termed “wokeism.”
With his speech’s broad, national tone, DeSantis may have indicated a possible White House run in the 2024 or 2028 presidential elections.
“I can tell you there’s one fellow that just hates Florida: his name is Joe Biden.” DeSantis continued, “Always trying to take potshots at Florida, and he does things like take our medication. He stiffs storm relief victims just because he doesn’t like the governor. He doesn’t like Florida. He doesn’t like me because we stand up to him.”
Biden, Fauci failures
DeSantis railed against the Biden administration’s failures on crime, the economy, and border security.
“The inflation is because of his policies, and we’re not going to let anyone forget that. So, all told, he’s had the worst first year of any president since the 1800s.”
The governor continued, “And as Biden flounders, Florida is leading on issue after issue — We are in the process of getting money from the legislature so that if Biden is dumping illegal aliens into Florida from the southern border, I’m rerouting them to Delaware. We’ll do some in DC and Hollywood as well.”
DeSantis went on the offensive on chief medical advisor Fauci, declaring, “From the very beginning, we refused to let this state descend into some type of Faucian dystopia where people’s freedoms are curtailed, and their livelihoods are destroyed … Florida has defeated Faucism. Freedom has prevailed in the sunshine state.”
At the CPAC, “Awake not Woke” is the theme. DeSantis used the theme to emphasize his ban of critical race theory (CRT) and other achievements as Florida governor.
“They want us to be powerless; they want to be voiceless; they want us to be second-class citizens. And what are these ideological aims? The woke is the new religion of the left, and this is what they have in mind.”
According to DeSantis, many major U.S. institutions, including numerous big tech companies, have become “infected with this woke virus. You look at the corrupt and dishonest legacy media in this country and what they’re doing to divide us and what they’re doing to prop up the regime.”
