DeSantis deploys extra soldiers after Haitians pull up in boat with guns; might send illegal aliens to Martha's Vineyard



Haiti's implosion was years in the making. The country's president was assassinated on July 7, 2021. The next month, the island was rocked by a devastating earthquake, which killed more than 2,200 people. In the years since, the island nation has been gripped by a nightmarish confluence of crime and bloodshed.

While NBC News recently reassured its audience that the cannibal gangsters of yesteryear are not presently prowling the body-strewn streets of Port-au-Prince looking for their next meal, criminals have nevertheless taken over the country's capital, freed thousands of felons from jail, engaged in systematic rape, forced the prime minister to resign, and threatened genocide.

Recent news of both a Haitian illegal alien's alleged rape of a girl in Massachusetts and the attempt by a boat containing Haitian migrants and guns to reach Florida shores appears to indicate the failed nation has begun to export its problems.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has made clear he won't tolerate this risk to his state.

DeSantis reiterated last week, "In Florida, we do not tolerate illegal immigration, let alone lawlessness committed by illegal aliens who shouldn't be here in the first place."

In addition to deploying more soldiers to protect the coastline, the Republican leader has indicated he'll bus the Haitian arrivals who managed to steal into the country over to Martha's Vineyard. After all, the elite liberal enclave is home to at least three towns that have adopted sanctuary policies in recent years.

Armed invaders

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission revealed last week that a pair of officers conducting nighttime water-based patrol near Sebastien Inlet on Feb. 29 stopped a 42-foot boat containing dozens of Haitian migrants along with weaponry.

"In their boat, in their vessel, they had firearms, they had guns, they had night vision gear and were boating very recklessly, which would potentially endanger other folks," the governor told reporters during a March 15 press conference.

Two among the 25 individuals aboard the boat were American citizens, both of whom were turned over to the Brevard County Sheriff's Office. DeSantis indicated the the Haitian migrants were turned over to the U.S. Coast Guard for deportation.

Bolstering defenses

Prior to publicly acknowledging the Feb. 29 incident, DeSantis announced that in anticipation of a flood of illegal aliens from Haiti, he had ordered additional state assets to the Florida Keys and the Sunshine State's southern waters.

"For quite some time, the State of Florida has been dedicating significant resources to combat illegal vessels coming to Florida from countries such as Haiti," said the governor. "Given the circumstances in Haiti, I have directed the Division of Emergency Management, the Florida State Guard, and state law enforcement agencies to deploy over 250 additional officers and soldiers and over a dozen air and sea craft to the southern coast of Florida to protect our state."

While the state already has a security presence in the area as part of Operation Vigilant Sentry, DeSantis' March 13 directive is sending additional personnel and assets to the area, including 39 additional officers from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement; 23 additional officers and eight seacraft from the FFWC; 48 additional soldiers and four more helicopters from the Florida National Guard; and 30 additional officers from the Florida Highway Patrol along with more drones and aircraft.

In addition to these reinforcements, the state will send up to 133 soldiers from the Florida State Guard to protect the Keys.

Days after issuing his directive, DeSantis ratified a triad of bills to make it more difficult for illegal aliens to get around the state: House Bill 1589, which increases penalties on individuals who operate a vehicle without a license; House Bill 1451, which prevents counties and cities from accepting identification cards issued to illegal aliens by other jurisdictions; and SB 1036, which enhances penalties for a crime committed by an illegal alien who was previously deported.

Giving sanctuaries what they asked for

In recent years, Texas, Florida, and other border states have sent illegal aliens packing to those Democrat-run municipalities that have branded themselves sanctuaries for those who would flout the laws of the land.

This campaign has been greatly successful, not only in giving northern cities a taste of what border states have long had to deal with, but in proving leftists' sanctuary rhetoric hollow. New York City Mayor Eric Adams, for instance, called last month for changes to the city's "sanctuary" policy. Chicago recently began evicting illegal aliens from its overwhelmed shelters.

DeSantis told conservative radio host Dana Loesch this week that the Sunshine State may begin busing illegal aliens from Haiti to Martha's Vineyard.

The Republican governor bused around 50 illegal aliens to Martha's Vineyard in 2022. The liberal enclave was quick to get rid of the migrants, who were whisked to a military base shortly after their arrival.

The governor told Loesch that if Haitians manage to get into Florida, the Sunshine State can't simply fly them back to Haiti "because the federal government is going to tell the host countries not to accept our planes."

"We really have to get them before they reach the shores, which is why we're working so hard to do that," said DeSantis. "Although I will say this, we do have our transport program, also, that's going to be operational. So, Haitians land in the Florida Keys, their next stop very well might be Martha's Vineyard."

\ud83d\udea8 BREAKING\ud83d\udea8\n\n"Haitians land in Florida Keys, their next stop very well be Martha's Vineyard" ~ @RonDeSantis \n\n #DanaRadio\n\nPodcast: https://t.co/HHFoIyoQxb
— (@)

Massachusetts — which has effectively been a sanctuary state since 2017 — is already overwhelmed by illegal aliens, and it's proving to be exceptionally costly.

Democratic Gov. Maura Healey's finance and housing secretaries indicated in December that the projected cost of sheltering migrants in fiscal year 2025 will be an estimated $915 million.

DeSantis also told Loesch that Florida will not be welcoming prospective waves of migrants from Haiti.

"I've got to defend my state," said the governor. "I've got enough issues just dealing with people fleeing from blue states moving into Florida."

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DeSantis camp says media called Iowa GOP presidential caucus for Trump before some people had voted



Former President Donald Trump decisively won the Iowa Republican presidential caucus on Monday, but the camp of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has said that the media called the race for Trump before some Iowans had even voted yet.

"I spoke before approx 400 Iowans today at a caucus site and DeSantis won. However, they were getting news alerts of a 'trump victory' before speeches concluded or voting began. The media wants to taint this process and it's sad for America. Wake up everyone," James Uthmeier tweeted.

— (@)

The Hill reported that a spokesperson for the Never Back Down super PAC claimed that while Florida first lady Casey DeSantis was talking at a caucus precinct, attendees began getting alerts that Trump had won the Iowa contest.

"Same thing happened to me. Zero votes had been cast, I hadn’t even given my speech, and the corporate media was calling the race via push notifications," Jeremy Redfern tweeted.

— (@)

"At the site where @RonDeSantis was speaking in Dubuque, people were still waiting to be checked in when the media started making calls. No one had even voted. It's extremely disrespectful to the voters," Bryan Griffin tweeted.

According to the Associated Press, with 95% of the vote in, Trump had earned 51% while DeSantis had a bit more than 21%, Nikki Haley had a little over 19%, and Vivek Ramaswamy was a little under 8%. After the caucus, Ramaswamy announced that he was endorsing Trump.

Iowa's 40 delegates will be divided among GOP candidates based on the proportion of the caucus vote that they win.

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Trump offers his opinion of the DeSantis-Newsom debate



Former President Donald Trump said that he thinks Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) "both did well" during their recent debate, Fox News Digital reported.

"I thought it was a very even debate," Trump opined, according to the outlet. "They both worked hard and they both did well."

Trump has skipped all three of the Republican presidential primary debates so far. DeSantis, who participated in each of those three GOP debates, also faced off against Newsom in a debate moderated by conservative commentator Sean Hannity on Thursday.

GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah declared DeSantis as the clear winner of the debate: "Ron DeSantis cleaned the floor with Gavin Newsom tonight. Well done, @RonDeSantis!" Lee tweeted on Thursday.

DeSantis, who is currently competing in the GOP presidential primary, has indicated that he will soon have visited all 99 counties in Iowa. The Iowa caucuses, which mark the first contest in the GOP presidential nominating process, will take place next month. Last month, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) endorsed DeSantis.

"When I tell you I'm going to do something, you can take that promise to the bank. I told Iowans I would visit all 99 counties in the Hawkeye State — and tomorrow, I will deliver on that promise," DeSantis noted in a Friday social media post.

— (@)

Trump, the clear frontrunner in the Republican nominating contest has been trouncing his competitors in the polls.

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'This is fake news': DeSantis campaign slaps down Trump's suggestion that the Florida governor might drop out of presidential race and run for US Senate



After former President Donald Trump floated the idea that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis might drop out of the GOP presidential primary and run for U.S. Senate against incumbent Sunshine State Sen. Rick Scott, DeSantis campaign press secretary Bryan Griffin slapped down the notion as "fake news."

"Rumors are strong in political circles that Ron DeSanctimonious, whose Presidential run is a shambles, and whose poll numbers have absolutely crashed, putting him 3rd and 4th in some states, will be dropping out of the Presidential race in order to run, in Florida, against Rick Scott for Senate. Now that's an interesting one, isn't it?" Trump wrote.

It appears that an earlier version of Trump's post had included the misspelling "Roomer" instead of "Rumors."

"This is fake news," Griffin fired back when responding to Trump's comments. "Clearly, Donald Trump and his army of consultants are panicked about @RonDeSantis' winning debate performance and the strong momentum that has followed. They know this is a two-man race, and we will carry this on to a win in this presidential primary. Instead of pushing fake news from New Jersey, the Trump campaign should be focused on getting their candidate on the campaign trail in Iowa and on the debate stage before it’s too late."

— (@)

Trump, who holds a massive lead over the field of Republican presidential hopefuls, skipped the first GOP primary debate last week. While the outlook could change before the voting gets underway in 2024, polling currently indicates that Trump appears well positioned to trounce the competition and secure the GOP presidential nomination.

Scott, who previously served as Florida governor, has been in the U.S. Senate since 2019, and is aiming to get re-elected in 2024.

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BlazeTV host Steve Deace offers full-throated endorsement of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president



BlazeTV host Steve Deace has endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president, throwing his support behind the White House hopeful during an episode of "The Steve Deace Show" during which he also interviewed the Sunshine State governor.

Deace said that he has never seen an individual who, on matters that will determine the future for people's kids and grandkids, "has more knowledge, more willingness, more resume in understanding them, what to do about them, and then actually doing them."

During remarks on Deace's show, DeSantis said the U.S. needs "a new birth of freedom," which he said includes tossing President Joe Biden's regulations, "declaring economic independence from the Chinese Communist Party," and securing the border. DeSantis also said he would "bring a reckoning for the COVID-19 policies," "take on the woke agenda," and "restore the military to mission first."

ENDORSED: Why Ron DeSantis Is the STRONG Leader America Needs | Guest: Ron DeSantis | 8/11/23 www.youtube.com

DeSantis noted in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, that he is honored to get Deace's endorsement.

"I'm honored to receive the endorsement from the great @SteveDeaceShow," DeSantis tweeted. "Like so many Iowans, Steve knows the time for excuses is over. We will get the job done in 2024!"

"Thank you @RonDeSantis for earning my support, by proving in the field of battle you are the strongest leader in this race for my kids, and they desperately need a strong America. It is time to not just market and message MAGA — but to actually do the MAGA. 2024 is a must win," Deace responded.

— (@)

Polling indicates that former President Donald Trump has been trouncing the rest of the GOP presidential primary field, with DeSantis — who decisively won re-election last year during Florida's 2022 gubernatorial election contest — trailing in a distant second place.

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DeSantis describes dismal scene during trip to San Francisco, reports people pooping on the street, doing drugs



Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who mounted a presidential bid last month, described a dire scene in San Francisco while visiting the city and attributed the problems to left-wing policies.

While recording a video in San Francisco, the Sunshine State governor reported, "we saw people defecating on the street" as well as individuals doing heroin and crack cocaine. He also said he saw "riff-raff" and boarded-up businesses.

Leadership matters. Cities like San Francisco that have embraced leftist policies have destroyed the quality of life of their citizens and sparked an exodus of productive people to greener pastures. We need to restore sanity across this country. pic.twitter.com/LF86omZ1e6
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) June 20, 2023

During an interview with KTVU, Mayor London Breed said that DeSantis was "talking bad about what's wrong and not necessarily talking about solutions to fix it."

The interviewer pressed Breed about whether what DeSantis had said was untrue.

"Well I don't know because I don't know what his experience was," Breed replied, adding that "people are taking what they're seeing in videos and seeing in terms of a snapshot and elevating them."

Mayor London Breeds responds to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' harsh S.F. critiques www.youtube.com

DeSantis, who just won re-election during Florida's 2022 gubernatorial election, is one of the many candidates running in the Republican presidential primary.

Former President Donald Trump holds a decisive lead over the pack of contenders, with DeSantis in a distant second place, though the Florida governor is positioned ahead of the rest of the field.

The first GOP presidential primary debate is scheduled to take place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on August 23. In order to participate, candidates must meet certain fundraising and polling thresholds. They will also be required to pledge to support the party's eventual nominee.

Incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden is facing primary challenges from Marianne Williamson and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

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'That's not a definition': Matt Walsh pushes back after leftist says anyone who claims to be a woman is a woman



Former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner has claimed that anyone who claims to be a woman is a woman.

"If someone says they're a woman, they're a woman. Not a tough concept," Turner tweeted in response to someone who asked her to define the word "woman."

\u201c@Crt4Me @RonDeSantis If someone says they\u2019re a woman, they\u2019re a woman. Not a tough concept.\u201d
— Nina Turner (@Nina Turner) 1685838162

Conservative commentator Matt Walsh of the Daily Wire, an outspoken opponent of leftist gender ideology who is behind the "What is a Woman?" documentary, responded to Turner's tweet.

"That's not a definition," Walsh noted, adding, "By that logic, anyone can be anything and no words have any meaning."

"Matt, normal people tend to stay respectful and keep it moving. Constantly being obsessed with other people's gender identity is weird behavior. You have your audience so fixated on LGBTQIA+ issues so they won't fight a class war," Turner responded.

\u201cMatt, normal people tend to stay respectful and keep it moving.\n\nConstantly being obsessed with other people\u2019s gender identity is weird behavior.\n\nYou have your audience so fixated on LGBTQIA+ issues so they won\u2019t fight a class war.\u201d
— Nina Turner (@Nina Turner) 1685892072

Walsh pressed Turner on the issue, asking her what a woman is.

"Nina, how is it disrespectful to insist that words have meaning? And why are you wasting all of this time tweeting around the issue instead of simply answering the question? What is a woman?" Walsh tweeted.

"Already answered the question—if someone says they’re a woman, believe them and move on. This fight makes you a lot of money, though," Turner replied.

\u201c@MattWalshBlog Already answered the question\u2014if someone says they\u2019re a woman, believe them and move on.\n\nThis fight makes you a lot of money, though.\n\nAnd while you have your audience mad about trans folks, Bud Light & Target, our government just cut spending by cutting benefits for poor folks,\u2026\u201d
— Matt Walsh (@Matt Walsh) 1685897148

Last month, Democratic Texas state Rep. John Bucy III gave basically the same definition when pressed by a GOP colleague about what a woman is.

"When a woman tells me they're a woman, I know they're a woman," Bucy said.

In addition to promoting radical leftist gender ideology, Turner also advocates for left-wing policies such as free college and free healthcare.

OFFICIAL TRAILER: "WHAT IS A WOMAN?" www.youtube.com

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Executive editor of the Daily Beast lashes out against Casey DeSantis in elitist rant, calling her a 'Walmart Melania' for wearing 'a Red State big-bin store' jacket



The executive editor at the Daily Beast has targeted Casey DeSantis in a deranged rant, emphasizing that Florida's first lady has neither the ideological mooring nor the aristocratic bona fides necessary to qualify for acceptance by the media and the political establishment.

Casey DeSantis, 42, is a mother of three and former news journalist who battled breast cancer and won. Extra to her successful career on television, she has championed various causes — such as cancer research and hurricane relief — for the betterment of her state while also actively supporting her husband, Gov. Ron DeSantis, both in Florida and in his latest presidential bid.

Doug Lambert, vice chair of the Republican Party in Belknap, New Hampshire, recently told Reuters, "She's the real deal."

Politico said she was "unquestionably the most important person influencing DeSantis’ policy and political operations ... taking both public positions on key issues like mental health funding as well as more behind-the-scenes duties, including playing a leading role in changing the makeup at the Republican Party of Florida."

The New York Post called her the governor's "not-so-secret political weapon."

However, to Katie Baker, the executive editor of the Daily Beast, Florida's first lady is just "the Walmart Melania."

The Daily Beast, a floundering leftist blog that was recently exposed for advancing a false report, published Baker's rant over the weekend, which was thematically centered on a jacket worn by Casey DeSantis at a biker charity event in Iowa, during which the governor told an audience, "We will never ever surrender to the woke mob."

The criticism of the jacket — which Baker used as an excuse to similarly lambaste former first lady Melania Trump's "I Really Don't Care" coat, but not Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's expensive "Tax the Rich" Met Gala dress — spiraled out into what appeared to be an attempt at character assassination, not unlike the profile run on May 19 by Politico, entitled "The Casey DeSantis Problem: ‘His Greatest Asset and His Greatest Liability."

The leather jacket that drew Baker's ire had an American flag on the front. On the back was a silhouette of the state of Florida and an alligator along with the caption, "Where woke goes to die."

\u201cIowa and Florida: Where woke goes to die\u2026\n\n\u2026.thanks to the leadership of @KimReynoldsIA and @RonDeSantis.\u201d
— Casey DeSantis (@Casey DeSantis) 1685839545

Baker wrote the jacket "brought to mind nothing so much as the racks of a Red State big-bin store where it would be retailing for $24.99."

"Casey DeSantis’ coat is just like her husband Ron DeSantis’ campaign: Crude. Grasping. Saying the ugly part out loud," wrote Baker.

Rather than sporting a "big-bin store" jacket that other Americans could similarly afford and wear, Baker made clear what the political elite should look like: "Think the pure sweetness of Michelle’s Jason Wu floral gown for the Obamas’ first inaugural ball, or Jill’s pastel blue coat that echoed the colors of Ukraine’s flag when Volodymyr Zelensky visited the White House."

While the Daily Beast's executive editor suggested "that fashion is a joyous extension of who you are and a symbol of what you want the world to know about you and about what you stand for," she intimated the American flag, gator, and "Where woke goes to die" slogan are altogether unacceptable, claiming that DeSantis' jacket signals Florida is not just where woke goes to die but where "a lot of other people die as well."

Baker linked the promise of wokeness' end, as signaled by DeSantis' jacket, to COVID deaths, alleged book bans, Jim Crow-era lynch mobs, and the 2016 Orlando Pulse nightclub mass shooting, further claiming the jacket serves as a "warning" to America of more in that vein.

Beyond "reading too much" into the DeSantis' war on identitarianism, ESG and gender ideology, Baker proceeded to make a classist argument for why Casey DeSantis, a daughter of a former USAF officer and a Sicilian immigrant, will never receive the acceptance of the liberal establishment as she lacks both Jackie Kennedy's progressive politics and the wealth of the Trumps.

"While Casey may be trying to position herself after Jackie Kennedy (good luck) and even Melania, if this weekend is any indication, she’s falling far short. It doesn't matter how many times she wears that ice-blue Badgley Mischka cape-dress. The DeSantis’ will never be Camelot," wrote Baker, adding that DeSantis could never "embody the class and effortless elegance of Michelle Obama or Dr. Jill Biden."

Baker made explicit her classist digs with an allusion to "The Great Gatsby," suggesting that unlike F. Scott Fitzgerald's fictional characters Tom and Daisy Buchanan — inheritors of affluence and wealth — "the DeSantis’ are more like poseurs," bereft also of the Gatsbian wealth that the Trumps can "retreat into."

Despite insinuating the DeSantis' are barred from the upper echelons of American society and the media acceptance that entails, the Daily Beast's executive editor managed to parrot Roger Stone's claim in Politico's May hit piece comparing Casey DeSantis to a famous literary aristocrat, but only as a means to denigrate.

"We’ve got a Sunshine State Lady Macbeth, in her green cape and white gloves, with her middling husband and her thirst for the crown," wrote Baker.

Jenna Ellis, a conservative lawyer who previously worked on former President Donald Trump's legal team, tweeted in response to Baker's article, "Tell me you’re elitist without telling me you’re elitist."

Given Baker's framing of Casey DeSantis as "the Walmart Melania," one commentator asked, "What's wrong with (shopping at) Walmart?"

Another commentator wrote, "No, these people don't hate the peasants, why do you ask?"

Philip Melanchthon Wegmann, a White House reporter with RealClearPolitics, suggested Baker's hit piece served as "an early in-kind contribution to DeSantis."

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'On day one we'll be spitting nails': DeSantis rages against deep state and pledges to dismantle it in Glenn Beck interview



Tech issues dogged Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' presidential announcement Wednesday, prompting his biggest Republican primary opponent and critics on the left to suggest the troubled medium was the message.

Unfazed, the Republican governor spoke to nationally syndicated radio host and co-founder of Blaze Media Glenn Beck Thursday morning, elaborating on his vision for America — a vision leftists would likely prefer to see disrupted by more than glitches.

DeSantis told Beck that there was little to be done in Tallahassee about the Twitter-side technical difficulties resultant of a surge in interest, but that there is much to be done in Washington, and as president, he wouldn't waste a moment.

"On day one we'll be spitting nails," said DeSantis, underscoring that his aim as president would be not repair but reformation.

This reformation, which DeSantis termed a re-constitutionalization of the U.S. government, entails reclaiming power from the ill-equipped and the unelected.

With the understanding that bureaucrats in Washington "do not want to give up this power willingly," DeSantis said it is important to get the personnel right.

"You can't just recycle everybody from D.C.," said DeSantis. "It's not going to change if that's the case."

Rather than sourcing talent from the majoritively Democratic capital, the Florida Republican indicated that he will bring in patriots from around the country who can unsettle the status quo.

DeSantis indicated that on his first day in office, he would clean house, naming a new FBI director and an "attorney general that has a backbone — an attorney general that recognizes if you are doing your job properly, you are going to be pilloried by the Washington Post and the New York Times and CNN."

Extra to ensuring the right people are in the right jobs, the governor indicated he will wield Article 2 authority to its fullest extent, albeit in a disciplined and strategic manner, as a means to deconstruct the administrative state and take on the antipathetic and obstructionist forces in the FBI, the Department of Justice, the Internal Revenue Service, the CIA, and other agencies.

"We have these agencies that have been detached from constitutional accountability. There was never supposed to be a fourth branch of government, but Congress has not held them accountable with the power of the purse or with legislating more precisely," said DeSantis. "Presidents have not been willing to wield Article 2 power to discipline the bureaucracy."

DeSantis told Beck that as a consequence of the impotence and deference of past leaders, it is presently unclear whether "we govern ourselves ... because right now, the most significant issues tend not to be resolved by our elected representatives. They're done by these bureaucrats and through these agencies. And so it's really, I think, a crisis of self-government."

By curbing and reversing this consolidation of power among technocratic forces who "all have the same worldview," DeSantis indicated that the power can be returned to the people.

\u201c.@RonDeSantis tells me how he plans to clean up the Deep State bureaucracy if he's elected president: "On DAY ONE, we'll be spitting nails."\u201d
— Glenn Beck (@Glenn Beck) 1685026143

While restoring to Americans what is theirs by birthright, DeSantis suggested he would also ensure the government and woke capital get out of their way.

"We need to have the Federal Reserve focus on stable money and stop trying to be the economic central planner," he said.

The governor indicated that he would also continue the work he has committed to in Florida, combating woke businesses whose ideological agenda makes it "harder for the average American family to make ends meet."

Having likened the historical import of DeSantis' direct appeal to prospective voters on Wednesday night to former President Bill Clinton's then-impactful MTV town hall debate or his appearance on "The Arsenio Hall Show," Beck pressed the Republican candidate on whether his announcement signaled "the end of the mainstream media" and a new trend of going straight to the people.

In reply, DeSantis lauded Elon Musk's opening of Twitter and its potential for going around the legacy media, but noted that there is still much to do "to make sure that the First Amendment actually means something," referencing the continuing efforts of Silicon Valley leftists and federal agencies to clamp down on free speech online.

As a means of bypassing the establishment media and various other gatekeepers, Beck proposed a Blaze TV-hosted presidential debate or roundtable, free from "gotcha questions" and committed to probing topics that actually matter to voters.

"I'd love to be a part of it," responded DeSantis, adding that he'd like to see the RNC sanction it.

DeSantis, whose campaign claimed to have brought in over $1 million in donations in less than an hour Wednesday evening, stands tall above the rest of the Republican field with the exception of former President Donald Trump, whom the governor trails in the polls by double digits.

The latest Emerson College Iowa Republican presidential caucus poll has Trump up 42 points, with DeSantis at 20. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former Vice President Mike Pence are tied for a distant third at five points in the poll.

CNN's May 24 poll put Trump up by 27 points. The May 19 Harvard-Harris poll suggested an even greater spread, with Trump sitting at 58 and DeSantis at 16.

While entering the GOP primary as an apparent underdog, DeSantis nevertheless has momentum, having built up speed killing woke initiatives in Florida and simultaneously illustrating some of what he could offer the rest of the nation.

In his second term as Florida governor, the 44-year-old former Navy JAG officer has already made significant strides in combating the leftist agenda, such as his ratification of a six-week abortion ban, a permitless concealed carry bill, and a law barring public universities from using state funds for DEI initiatives. Prior to his re-election and swearing-in on Glenn Beck's Bible of the Revolution, DeSantis also reopened Florida while much of the nation idled under COVID restrictions and passed legislation that ensured LGBT propaganda could not be disseminated in the classroom.

At the outset of his campaign, the Quinnipiac University Poll has DeSantis leading President Joe Biden by one. In the same poll, Trump trails Biden by two.

Despite the comparisons that have and will continue to be drawn between DeSantis and Trump, he recently emphasized in a recent interview with Piers Morgan, "If I were to run, I'm running against Biden."

\u201cAmerica is worth the fight... Every. Single. Time.\u201d
— Casey DeSantis (@Casey DeSantis) 1684879580

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DeSantis will reportedly announce presidential bid during Wednesday Twitter Spaces with Elon Musk



Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is slated to announce a presidential bid during a Wednesday evening Twitter Spaces with billionaire business tycoon Elon Musk, according to reports.

"BREAKING: @FoxNews confirms Florida Governor @RonDeSantis will announce his 2024 Presidential run tomorrow night, 6pm ET in a Twitter Spaces interview with @elonmusk," Bill Melugin of Fox News tweeted.

Musk retweeted Melugin's post.

\u201cBREAKING: @FoxNews confirms Florida Governor @RonDeSantis will announce his 2024 Presidential run tomorrow night, 6pm ET in a Twitter Spaces interview with @elonmusk.\u201d
— Bill Melugin (@Bill Melugin) 1684865237

Florida first lady Casey DeSantis tweeted a Fox News article that reported her husband will announce his candidacy Wednesday during a talk with Musk on the social media platform. When sharing the article she wrote, "Big if true..." along with a smiling emoji.

\u201cBig if true... \ud83d\ude42\n\nhttps://t.co/Jrm528DPpA\u201d
— Casey DeSantis (@Casey DeSantis) 1684867814

The Twitter Spaces event will reportedly be moderated by David Sacks.

While speaking remotely for the Wall Street Journal's CEO Council Summit, Musk noted that he is not planning to endorse a specific candidate, according to the Journal. CNN reported that Musk said that he does not plan to endorse someone "at this time."

But when asked last year whether he would support DeSantis for president in 2024, Musk replied in the affirmative.

"My preference for the 2024 presidency is someone sensible and centrist. I had hoped that would the case for the Biden administration, but have been disappointed so far," Musk tweeted in November.

"Would you support Ron DeSantis in 2024, Elon?" someone replied.

"Yes," Musk responded.

\u201c@ProudElephantUS @TimRunsHisMouth Yes\u201d
— Tim Young (@Tim Young) 1669414177

Back in July 2022, Musk suggested that DeSantis could defeat President Joe Biden without even campaigning.

"Trump would be 82 at end of term, which is too old to be chief executive of anything, let alone the United States of America. If DeSantis runs against Biden in 2024, then DeSantis will easily win – he doesn't even need to campaign," Musk wrote.

\u201c@adamirvinmusic @BreitbartNews Trump would be 82 at end of term, which is too old to be chief executive of anything, let alone the United States of America.\n\nIf DeSantis runs against Biden in 2024, then DeSantis will easily win \u2013 he doesn\u2019t even need to campaign.\u201d
— Breitbart News (@Breitbart News) 1657555678

DeSantis will be jumping into a GOP primary field that already includes former President Donald Trump, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, author and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and Larry Elder.

DeSantis, who soundly defeated Democratic opponent Charlie Crist during the Sunshine State's 2022 gubernatorial contest, has long been viewed as a figure who might jump into the presidential contest.

Trump has been taking shots at the Florida governor for months and referring to him as "DeSanctimonious."

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