On March 30, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made a scheduled stop at Adventure Outdoors in Smyrna on his book tour.
With the line from the door ending around the corner of the shopping center near Old Concord Road, many were waiting to see and hear the governor as he is believed to be testing the waters of a possible bid for the Presidency in 2024.
Some detractors were present on the sidewalk in front of the store. A large bus was parked by the sidewalk with former president Donald Trump’s image on it, reading “Make America Great Again! Trump 2024,” as well as many supporters of the former president standing on the sidewalk waving the campaign’s well-recognized flags supporting the 2024 candidate.
Around 3:20 p.m. Gov. DeSantis entered the room and walked to his podium with the phrase, “The Florida Blueprint”, on the front of it. He started by thanking the Wallace family for having him there, and by listing his achievements while serving as governor of Florida. He emphasized the success of his new book, the economic and, what he views as, social successes of the state of Florida.
Continuing with his speech, he announced a constitutional carry law that will be signed into law next week in Florida. He also mentioned his response to the coronavirus pandemic and keeping Florida open in contradiction to federal guidelines.
He said that his motivations are not determined by his own political benefit, but for the best interests of the people, and that he expected that from those working in his administration.
“This isn’t gonna be like Washington where you leak and do whatever you want with your own agenda,” DeSantis said, “If you’re working in our administration, you have to put the interest of the public above your own agenda.”
Gov. DeSantis noted that his leadership does not pay attention to statistics or to public backlash. Instead, his administration operates guided by morals and convictions.
“A leader is not captive to polls,” DeSantis said, “a leader will get ahead of public opinion, a leader will shape public opinion, a leader will bring people to his side with good results.”
Close to the end of his speech he offered a sharp criticism of the current administration’s handling of the recent bank collapses and the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy.
“I just look at all this and think to myself Biden needs to go,” he said, “he needs to go back to Delaware.”
He ended his speech by portraying himself as a fighter for freedom, and that what Florida has accomplished in terms of his interpretation of liberty will stand as an example.
“It occurred to me,” he said, “you can have the best Declaration of Independence in the world, you can have the best constitution in the world, you could’ve had the best Presidents in the world and other leaders throughout history, but if you don’t have people that are going to put on that uniform, stand up, fight and indeed give their lives in lives in the last full measure of devotion, then it isn’t gonna amount to very much.”
Ending his speech, he said that Florida is continuing that fight, and that he isn’t going anywhere.
“I’m not backing down, I’ll be holding down the fort,” he said, “and I’ve only begun to fight.”
If he does decide to run, experts expect an announcement to come close to summer, according to the BBC. If he does enter the race, he will have to work hard to get ahead in the polls, as a Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll has DeSantis polling at 24 percent in a hypothetical primary field, far behind former president Trump at 50 percent.
