DeSantis on Disney: ‘We Run the State of Florida, Not Them,’ Slams Ties to CCP
August 15, 2022 Updated 8:46 A.M. ET
PHOENIX (FLV) – Gov. Ron DeSantis headlined a rally for Republican candidates endorsed by Donald Trump in Arizona Sunday night.
The governor talked about his anti-lockdown and mandate approach during the speech. DeSantis faced backlash from across the world for his decisions to go against the grain and keep businesses open.
“But you know, I looked at all that and said ‘I got elected to stand up for people. I can take the hit. I’m fine,'” DeSantis said. “My job is to protect the jobs of the people that I represent and if standing for the right thing, standing for their rights, standing for their livelihood meant that it didn’t work out for me politically and then I lost my job, well then so be it. That’s the price of leadership.”
Elections were another focal point of the governor who reminisced on his decision to suspend the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections in 2019 for failing to accurately report information related to the number of ballots that had been cast.
“And then when COVID hit, we never changed the rules in the middle of the game like these other states did. We followed the law and we ended up counting 99% of the votes before midnight on election night,” DeSantis said.
During the pandemic, several states changed how they conducted elections. Some states conducted primarily all-mail elections and loosened restrictions around who qualified to cast an absentee mail ballot
“I don’t know why it takes a week to count the votes. Well actually I do because I think people are doing that intentionally,” he said. “But here’s the thing. People would actually look at Florida after that. They said ‘man why can’t other states be like Florida?’ I can tell you they never used to say that when it came to elections in Florida.”
“So we were proud of that but at the same time I believe leadership is doing things so that you don’t end up in a crisis.”
DeSantis commented on his fued with Disney after the company vowed to repeal Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law. Disney has been a long-time powerhouse in Florida politics.
“I got news for them – I took an oath to support and defend the people of the state of Florida. I did not take an oath to subcontract out my leadership to a California-based corporation with close ties to the CCP” he exclaimed. “We run the state of Florida, not them.”
The Florida governor used the speech to attack President Joe Biden’s policies.
“And the problem with Biden is if you look at the problems we have in our country, the inflation, the energy, a whole host of issues,” he explained. “These are problems that have been exacerbated by his policies.”
DeSantis also compared former President Ronald Reagan to President Biden.
“When you think about President Reagan you think about Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” he said. “When I think of Biden I think of him staring into the teleprompter like a deer in a headlights- reading, ‘end of quote, repeat the line.”
The “Unite and Win” rally, hosted by Turning Point USA, promoted Republican nominee for Arizona governor Kari Lake and U.S. Senate nominee Blake Masters.
