DeSantis slams ‘potted plant’ Republicans in Ohio speech
AKRON, Ohio (FLV) – In a speech to attendees of the Summit County Lincoln Day Breakfast in Ohio, Gov. Ron DeSantis continued to tout conservative victories in Florida as 2024 speculation continues.
The speaking event comes after a nationwide tour began off the heels of his Feb. 28 “The Courage to Be Free” book launch.
The governor reflected on his narrow 2018 gubernatorial victory against Democrat Andrew Gillum, which was won by just a fraction of a percent of the vote.
He said despite narrowly winning, he was set on implementing conservative policies and ignoring polls.
“My view was I may have received 50% of the vote, but I earned 100% of the executive power and I intended to use that aggressively to pursue a conservative agenda,” DeSantis said. “We also said from day one, I am gonna lead by conviction and I am not taking polls to tell me what to do.”
He differentiated himself from Republicans he described as acting like “potted plants” once they get elected.
“They don’t want to lead, they worry about what the media is going to say about them.”
“They just kind of hope to not have to make decisions until […] they’re actually forced to do it. I said, that’s not what we’re doing in Florida,” he said. “We’re going on offense in the state of Florida. I’m going to get out in front of issues. I’m going to be leading on issues. I don’t care what the left says. I don’t care what the media says.”
“We are going to deliver big victories and, I’ll tell you, when you’re on offense, it’s hard for them to keep up with you because they don’t know what we’re going to do next.”
The governor also touted higher education changes in the form of ending diversity, equity and inclusion “bureaucracy” in public institutions, along with medical freedom in relation to the lack of mask and vaccine mandates.
DeSantis described DEI as “division, exclusion and indoctrination.”
“It is a war on merit, it is a war on achievement, and it has no place in our public institutions, and in Florida, it will soon be dead on arrival,” he said.”
He also highlighted his efforts to combat left-wing efforts to use corporations, rather than just government, to advance a political agenda, namely in the form of environmental, social and corporate governance scores, or ESG.
“The left is trying to impose its agenda through virtually every artery of society, and that includes through major corporations,” he said.
The governor has said he will consider “national” political decisions after the Legislature wraps up its session in May.
