Ron DeSantis officially declared himself as a 2024 presidential candidate on Twitter last night. The Left should be worried if he can get past Donald Trump:
Here Comes Ron DeSantis
After a bumpy start due to technical issues on the social media site, DeSantis kicked off his announcement by proclaiming “American demise is not inevitable, it’s a choice.”
The social media platform seemed to encounter technical glitches from the overload of listeners, half a million at times, much to the delight of liberal media and DeSantis trolls.
The most recent candidate to enter the increasingly crowded GOP primary field fired off on all the expected bullet points: replacing the woke mind virus with reality, the need for meritocracy over preferential treatment, parental rights in education, a return to law and order, and reinstating reverence for our country’s institutions, including the military.
He echoed his well-known line: common sense can no longer be an uncommon virtue.
Contrast to Biden’s Failures
DeSantis directly contrasted Biden’s failures against his plans for America.
Biden is pushing woke ideology. DeSantis clearly won’t stand for that.
Biden has politicized the military. DeSantis will return high standards of ability and merit to the armed forces to increase enrollment.
Biden has weaponized the power of the administrative state against everyday Americans, particularly conservatives. DeSantis would call for a return of legislative power to where it belongs – Congress.
Biden is failing at keeping the border secure. DeSantis will build a wall.
Build the Wall
Later in the conversation, Steve Deace, a conservative talk show host on Blaze TV, asked how DeSantis would do that, given the last president who promised the same seemed to be unable to follow through.
The newly minted presidential candidate responded that first, he doesn’t make promises he can’t keep. Second, he claimed there are leverage points under Article II of the Constitution that past executives have been reticent to use.
This response is reflective of DeSantis’s belief in and application of the Hamiltonian notion of “energy in the executive,” as exemplified in his leadership in Florida.
He is fond of recounting the moment of his first day in office as Florida’s governor thinking he “feels sorry for whatever SOB sits in this chair after me” because he would leave them with nothing to do. In a now classic DeSantis quote, he was going to “take all the meat off the bone.”
He reiterated that, as president, he would do the same.
The Haters
Vocal Trump supporters on Twitter were critical of DeSantis’s performance saying it was “boring” and that DeSantis was “not entertaining,” “charismatic,” or “funny.”
This is exactly the problem with politics these days. Voters would rather be entertained and amused than informed and critical.
True, most of the questions lobbed at DeSantis were from special guests in areas where he is strong, but this wasn’t intended to be a live debate. It was an announcement of his candidacy, which normally wouldn’t include any discussion. Many Twitter Trump-sters seemed to forget that.
The Special Guests
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Professor of Medicine and Health Policy at Stanford University and co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration, who consulted DeSantis on his COVID policy, inquired how the new candidate would reform public health authorities such as the CDC and NIH. DeSantis replied that there needs to be an honest reckoning of COVID – failures need to be acknowledged and the agencies, cleared out.
Other special guest supporters including Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky 4th District); Chris Ruffo, writer and activist against critical race theory, gender ideology, and social decay; and Dana Loesch, conservative radio and TV host, posed questions on DeSantis’s stand on book bans, CRT, and education, and of course, Disney.
Something – or Someone – Missing
Although one name was blatantly absent from the conversation: Donald Trump. How refreshing. While eventually, DeSantis will have to confront the taunts and jabs from the 45th president, his once friend, now foe, never came up in the hour-long conversation.
Unless of course, you consider the undoubtable contrast he drew between Trump and himself by saying, “I don’t care about fanfare or adulation.”
Voters, he said, are sick of empty promises and “want action.” And they want to win.
He promised that if Republicans voted him to be their candidate he would be standing on the west lawn of the White House on January 20, 2025.
View from the Left
There were some interesting comments from the more liberal side of the aisle that prove that if DeSantis wins the primary, Joe Biden is done for.
“As a lifelong Democrat I just want the message to be clear to Republicans. Donald Trump has no chance of getting our votes, while Ron DeSantis does have a chance,” said one on Twitter.
“This is going to be the very first time, if DeSantis makes it, I am going to be voting Right… lord knows that I don’t want to have to choose between the lesser of two evils AGAIN,” said another, on the platform.
This is the left’s biggest fear. They know their candidate is so weak that even Democrats and most certainly independents will vote for DeSantis. It’s exactly why they are going to do everything they can to destroy one of the most popular governors, and now presidential candidates, in the country.
The New Media
I’m optimistic that voters will see through the lies from legacy media and the democratic machine.
People like Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson, plus platforms such as Rumble, Substack, and all independent news platforms that decentralize messaging will play a crucial role in the upcoming elections.
As Musk said, “Twitter was expensive but free speech is priceless.”
I will reiterate the gratitude other panel members expressed for the financial hit Musk took in the name of freedom.
Ron DeSantis, who professed he is not one to “go with the crowd” but “against the grain” seems to be a perfect fit for his rogue ventures.
Jennifer Galardi is the politics and culture editor for 19FortyFive.com. She has a Master’s in Public Policy from Pepperdine University and produces and hosts the podcast Connection with conversations that address health, culture, politics, and policy. In a previous life, she wrote for publications in the health, fitness, and nutrition space. In addition, her pieces have been published in the Epoch Times and Pepperdine Policy Review.
