Ron DeSantis courts America’s right-wing as he weighs 2024 White House bid
- Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis is widely seen as a contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024
- Donald Trump, who is making his third White House bid, has already set his sights on rival DeSantis, giving him nicknames
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis positioned himself Tuesday as the leading Republican alternative to Donald Trump by launching a legislative state session that offers red meat to the party base.
A darling of the populist right, the 44-year-old DeSantis – who has not yet entered the 2024 presidential race – has devoted much of his time as governor to bashing Democrats for liberalism and “wokeness”.
His “State of the State” address kicked off a session aiming to expand gun rights, curb diversity efforts at universities and end the “authoritarianism” of Covid-19 vaccine mandates – all issues that play well in the battle for the Republican nomination.
“Now is not the time to rest on our laurels. We have the opportunity and indeed the responsibility to swing for the fences so that we can ensure Florida remains number one,” DeSantis said in his address in state capital Tallahassee.
“Don’t worry about the chattering class, ignore all the background noise, keep the compass set to true north,” he added.
“We will hold the line, we won’t back down. And I can promise you this: you ain’t seen nothing yet.”