DeSantis and Crist Face Off in Fiery Debate: 2024, Child Sex Changes, Lockdowns, Abortion

FORT PIERCE (FLV) – Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Democrat U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist engaged in an hour-long debate Monday night.

The candidates were asked questions about topics including education, the economy, COVID-19 responses, abortion and immigration.

Education

Governor DeSantis, the Parental Rights and Education Act and the Stop WOKE Act are centerpieces of your agenda for Florida schools. Why?

And Congressman, do you believe it’s import to educate students in Kindergarten through 3rd grade about sexual orientation and gender identity?

Moderator’s Question

The Parental Rights in Education Act, which bans classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender ideology in grades K-3. The “Stop WOKE Act” that bans educators from teaching students that their “moral character” is determined by race, sex, or national origin.

Crist’s answer said it is important to teach science, math and history and focus on teacher pay. He did not answer the specific question but criticized DeSantis for engaging in “culture and political wars.”

“We need to have a focus on education and not politicize and make political war zones out of our schools,” Crist said. “We need to support our schools, support our teachers, have our parents involved.”

DeSantis fired back that he is not waging a culture war but is “simply defending parents and students.”

“It’s inappropriate to tell an 8-year-old that they may have been born a girl but maybe they’re really a boy. That’s wrong,” DeSantis said. “We need to teach them read, write, add and subtract.”

Crist said DeSantis loves “dividing” the state and called himself a uniter.

“You love dividing our state, you know, whether it’s blacks against whites, whether it’s gay against straight, whether it’s young versus old,” Crist said.

DeSantis pointed to legislation he signed prohibiting Florida public schools from allowing biological males to participate in women’s sports.

“I think denying girls and women athletes the right to compete fairly, I think that’s divisive,” DeSantis said.

What do you believe is the best way to address issues of race in our history and in modern life in the public school setting?

Moderator’s Question

DeSantis started out by citing Florida law that requires students learn “all” American history including slavery, civil rights and segregation.

“But what I think is not good is to scapegoat students based on skin color,” he said. “It’s not good to distort American history by saying that the American Revolution was fought to defend slavery, which is not true.”

He noted that history lessons should focus on the beliefs of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.

“I don’t want to teach kids to hate our country. I don’t want to teach kids to hate each other,” DeSantis said. “And the way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.”

Crist said there should not be a “whitewash” approach to education.

“How are they going to do well in life if they don’t even know our own history,” Crist said. “And we’re not going to teach people to hate each other in our schools. I don’t know where you get that idea.”

Crist advocated for “common sense” and then pivoted to abortion.

“We need to do what’s right and you’re taking away from all these other issues because you don’t want to talk about taking away a woman’s right to choose,” he said.

Inflation

What are your plans to reduce the effects of inflation on Floridians if the federal government cannot come up with a viable solution?

Moderator’s Question

DeSantis attacked Crist for voting with “Biden 100% of the time.”

“So he’s locked together with these policies that have hurt so many people throughout our state in our country,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis outlined his proposals to reduce tolls by 50% statewide for commuters, and making all baby items and pet food tax free permanently in Florida.

“So this is going to be the largest tax relief plan in the history of the state of Florida,” DeSantis said. “You’re able to do that when you have a strong economy and the largest budget surplus in history, which we have now.”

Crist said DeSantis “keeps talking about the Biden Administration” and said there should be a focus on Florida, but did not include how he would tackle the issue.

“This is the DeSantis Administration and under the DeSantis Administration, the middle class is getting crunched in Florida,” Crist said. “You can’t get an apartment, you can’t afford a house. You can’t pay your property insurance because he’s taken his eye off the ball.”

Within the exchange, Crist asked the governor to tell Floridians whether he would serve a full four year term as governor after earlier claiming the governor wants to run for president.

“If you’re re-elected, you will serve a full four year term as governor yes or no?” Crist asked.

The moderator pointed out that the campaigns agreed ahead of time not to ask each other questions.

“I know that Charlie’s interested in talking about 2024 and Joe Biden, but I just want to make things very, very clear,” DeSantis said in response. “The only worn out old donkey I’m looking to put out to pasture is Charlie Crist.”

COVID Response

By the summer of 2020, Florida was slowly reopening under Governor DeSantis, while Democratic members of the state’s congressional delegation, including Congressman Crist, were calling for new stay-at home orders-and a statewide mask mandate. Looking back more than two years later, are you satisfied with your approach to the COVID response?

Moderator’s Question

Crist said he is satisfied with his approach but said he would have listened to scientists “unlike the governor.”

“He wants to talk about how we reopen this and we reopen that. You can keep things reopened but you’ve got to do it with an eye toward what healthcare providers tell you,” Crist said. “Not being arrogant, so arrogant that you won’t listen to their advice about when masks are appropriate. And later on when they probably are not, like now.”

DeSantis called out Crist for wanting “harsh lockdowns” in a summer of 2020 letter.

“If that had happened in this state, it would have destroyed the state of Florida. Our hospitality and tourism industry, which is thrive, would have gone into disrepair. It would have thrown millions of Floridians into turmoil,” DeSantis said. “And I can tell you as Charlie Chris and his friends in Congress were urging you to be locked down, I lifted you up. I protected your rights.”

In response, Crist said he wants to keep businesses open and said the governor “attacked” the cruise industry. In previous interviews, Crist had advocated for vaccine passports for the cruise industry.

“I’m not the government who attacked the cruise industry because I just wanted to make sure that their customers weren’t sick before they got on the boat. That’s you,” Crist said in the debate.”

In contrast, the governor took a stand against vaccine passports and mask mandates. DeSantis noted that Florida is leading the nation in migration. He talked about his focus on providing nursing homes and seniors with testing and monoclonal antibodies.

“Other states had higher COVID mortality rates for senior citizens than we did in Florida,” DeSantis said. “And I think that that’s the approach people should have taken. Focus on the vulnerable population, but make sure you’re not locking down the rest of the people.”

Immigration

Governor, your administration recently used state funds to transport migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard. Why? And do you believe that was an effective use of taxpayer money?

Congressman, you called the flights inhumane. Do you believe Florida should be a sanctuary state?

Moderator’s Question

Crist called the flights to Martha’s Vineyards “political stunts.”

“I thought what the governor did was a horrible political stunt. You know, we have an immigration problem. We have a problem at the border, we need to secure the border,” Crist said.

He explained he does not believe the answer is flying migrants to other states and said he voted on “comprehensive immigration reform” in Congress.

“That’s not the way to change policy. You can change policy and do what’s right to secure the border by having comprehensive immigration reform,” Crist said.

DeSantis called out Crist for wanting a secure border but supporting the Biden Administration where a record number of migrants have crossed the border. He also talked about the high amounts of fentanyl crossing into U.S. communities.

“We now see it ravaging our communities like never before,” DeSantis said. “I didn’t hear people like Charlie expressing outrage about that we’ve had criminal aliens come into the country.”

DeSantis said “elites” did not care about illegal immigration until migrants began traveling to D.C., New York and Martha’s Vineyard.

“It’s sad that it comes to this but what we did put this issue front and center. I think we need to reinstitute Remain in Mexico,” DeSantis said. “And I think we need to secure the border because fentanyl is absolutely out of control.”

Gender Transitioning for Minors

The moderator asked the candidates where they stood on minors undergoing “gender affirming” medical procedures and therapies.

DeSantis first pointed out that “gender affirming care” is another word for puberty blockers, double mastectomies on girls and chemically castrating boys.

“That is wrong. We are not going to allow that to happen in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said. “We’re talking about 13 and 14 and 15 year old kids. They are not in a position to know whether they can undergo a radical procedure that physically alters their body.”

He mentioned how Europe has “backtracked.” For instance, England shut down the country’s only youth gender clinic.

Crist’s pointed his answer back to “a woman’s right to choose.”

“You want to be the judge. You want to decide about what people should do with their own physical being, with the betterment of their health, with whether or not they want to make sure that they can practice their right to choose as a woman,” Crist said. “And that’s just not right. I don’t believe in that. I believe that we need to do unto others as we would have done unto us. It’s called the golden rule.”

Abortion

In your opinion, after what week of pregnancy should abortion be banned?

Moderator’s Question

DeSantis said he would “like to see everybody have a shot” at life. He supported the 15-week abortion ban lawmakers passed earlier this year.

“I know Charlie Crist opposes that, even though the baby is fully formed, has a heartbeat can feel pain and can suck their thumb. He also supports sex selective abortions, which is used to discriminate against little girls,” DeSantis said. “He supports dismemberment abortions, where they literally will tear the baby limb from limb, and he supports taxpayer funding all the way up until the moment of birth and that is wrong.”

Crist said DeSantis’ statements were not the truth and said the 15-week abortion ban is “not compassionate leadership.” Crist brought up his stance on abortion throughout much of the debate.

“I don’t want to ban abortion. I want to make sure we keep a woman’s right to choose available to the women of the State of Florida,” Crist said. “And I want to make sure that we don’t have a governor in the future who wouldn’t even allow exceptions for rape or incest.