Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) hinted Thursday that he has much more planned before his career in politics is over.
DeSantis spoke to a room full of about 750 GOP activists and officials at the Republican Committee of Allegheny County’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner. DeSantis headlined the event, touting his accomplishments and ending his speech with a hint at his future plans.
“I can tell you this: In the state of Florida, with me as governor, I have only begun to fight,” DeSantis said to cheers, according to CNN.
Earlier in the event, a local pastor prayed over the meal and noted that DeSantis would make a great next president of the United States. The crowd loudly agreed.
During his speech, DeSantis highlighted his battles against corporations and progressive activists and politicians. The governor touted new legislation addressing big tech censorship and promoted his support for the police and education free of critical race theory courses.
DeSantis also touted Florida’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Florida had one of the lightest responses to the pandemic while prioritizing the protection of those most vulnerable to the disease.
“All I can say to any state that has not followed suit: Open your state, open your schools, end these mask mandates, let people live and thrive,” DeSantis said, according to CNN. “When it came right down to it, we chose freedom over Fauci-ism.”
DeSantis beat Democrat Andrew Gillum in 2018 by about 33,000 votes to become governor of Florida. Despite the thin margin, DeSantis has gained significant support from Floridians for his pandemic response and other initiatives. A May poll from the Florida Chamber of Commerce showed that DeSantis has a strong base of support among registered voters with 55% approving of his leadership and 40% disapproving.
DeSantis has been one of the leading critics of the Biden administration, especially over President Joe Biden’s decision-making and rhetoric related to COVID-19. Earlier this month, DeSantis accused the Biden administration of being “anti-science” after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggested pausing the Johnson & Johnson vaccine over six cases of blood clots out of 7 million vaccinations.
“The fact of the matter is, that is an anti-science posture, to say that we need all these restrictions even with mass vaccination. Because the numbers of the vaccines are better than the clinical trials were, in terms of the effectiveness,” DeSantis said. “If you look at CDC, I think they have over 95 million people have now been vaccinated. The people that have been re-infected or infected after vaccine, has been way less than one-tenth of 1%. These numbers are about as good as you could possibly hope for. So my message is the vaccines protect you, get vaccinated, and then live your life as if you’re protected. You don’t have to chafe under restrictions infinitum.”
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