ADEL, Iowa – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis introduced himself to Iowans during Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird’s Big Barn Bash at the Dallas County Fairgrounds.
Approximately 200 attended the event, including a fried chicken dinner and pie auction. DeSantis’ appearance was part of his fifth trip back to Iowa since announcing his campaign for president. He has committed to “doing the full Grassley” meaning he will visit all 99 counties in Iowa, a tradition started by U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who does it annually.
DeSantis thanked Bird for “leading the fight” against the Biden Administration through various lawsuits, but said ultimately President Joe Biden needed to be replaced.
“The reason we are here, and I think we can all acknowlege, that America is in a state of decline. It is a decline in terms of our economic opportunity, our culture, our military strength, things that we have taken for granted, probably most of our lives,” he said.
“It’s not going to be enough for Republicans to manage the decline a little bit better than the Democrats. This decline is not inevitable. This decline is a choice. It is a choice that we are going to make as Americans over the next 18 months, and I’m running for president because I want to reverse the decline of this country. I want to restore it to its proper greatness, and I want to give our people a new birth of freedom,” he added.
DeSantis currently trails former President Donald Trump in latest polls in Iowa by an average of 27 points, being the only other candidate consistenly in double digits. However, the last two polls show Trump’s lead in Iowa is beginning to gradually shrink as campaigning ramps up in August with the Iowa State Fair and the former president was criminally indicted for a third time in federal court.
DeSantis highlighted his record as governor, positioning himself as a culture warrior fighting for school choice, parental rights, life, and tax relief, while opposing “woke ideology” including critical race theory, gender ideology, and ESG.
“The bad news is that we have seen the direction of our country. The good news is that we can get it right. We can fix it, but it is going to take leadership. It’s going to take vision, and it is going to take the courage of our convictions because when you do what is right in this day and age, that is not cost free,” he said. “They are going to come gunning for you. They are going to have their knives out. They are going to sling the arrows and you’ve got to be willing to stand your ground.”
“We me, the one thing you know, I have a record of doing that as governor of the state of Florida,” DeSantis added.
“We made big promises and we overdelivered on our promises. That is what you should expect. Somebody who is going to get the job done,” he stated.
DeSantis highlighted his leadership in Florida keeping the state open during the COVID-19 pandemic and how he received blowback for doing that, including from other Republicans.
“A leader has to put the jobs of the people he represents ahead of protecting his own political hide. It doesn’t matter what the politics is, and at the end of the day, we refused to let the state of Florida descend into some type of Faucian dystopia where people’s livelihoods are destroyed, and their freedoms were curtailed,” he said.
DeSantis said three years later, Florida’s economy is the strongest in thenation, and U.S. News and World Report ranked the Sunshine State first in education.
If elected, DeSantis said his administration would hit the door running on January 20, 2025.
“We are going to be focused, and we are going to be disciplined. We are going to reverse ‘Bidenomics’ so the middle class has a chance in this country again. We are going to take all of Biden’s executive orders, bureaucracy, and regulation and day one they’ll be going in the trash can,” he said.
DeSantis also promoted energy independence, economic independence from Communist China, and border security.
“You can take this to the bank. I will be the president who will finally end our problems at the southern border,” he stated.
DeSantis said he would declare a national emergency to mobilize the military and natioanl resources, reinstitute the remain in Mexico policy, and build a border wall.
He said he would be the first president to hold the Mexican drug cartels accountable.
“They are sex trafficking people into this country, human trafficking. They are bringing in fentanyl, such that tens of thousands of Americans are dying every single year. There are mothers in every corner of this country who have had to bury their children as a result of what they are doing. So we will let it be known very clearly, these cartels think that they can cross our borders with impunity, when I am president, our border patrol, our military, they are going to be equipped with the ability to fight back. If the cartels break into this country, bringing these drugs, that is going to be the last thing they do because they are going to end up stone cold dead. We are taking them out,” DeSantis said.
He also promised a reckoning for the federal government’s COVID-19 lockdown policies that lead to economic shutdowns, school closures, and mandated vaccines.
“I just think somebody should be held accountable for all of those bad polices, and we are going do it so it never happens in this country ever again,” DeSantis promised.
He also said his administration would reject “woke ideology” stating his administration would be “rooted in truth, in reality, and in facts.”
“In Florida, we have become the state where woke goes to die, and as president, we’ll ensure to leave woke in the dust bins of history where it belongs,” DeSantis said.
He added as Commander-in-Chief that one of his top priorites would be to root out the diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) programs in the military.
“I don’t think people want to join a woke military. They want to join a military that is focused on what matters. We want a military that will fight in our nation’s wars if it comes to that,” DeSantis said. “As Commander-in-Chief on day one we rip the political agenda out, we rip the ideology out, we rip the social experimentation out. We restore this military to its proper function first.
He also promised to shrink the administrative state and end the “weaponization” of the federal government.
“There’s going to be a new sheriff in town. You are going to see a new FBI director on day one. You are going to see the DOJ cleared out. We are going to hold people accountable. We will hold people accountable, the free ride is over, and we will be willing fire people who abuse their power and violate people’s freedoms. We will have a single standard of justice in this country when I am president. The weaponization of power ends on January 20, 2025.
In closing, DeSantis said he believes 2024 is a turning point election in American history and if the “decline” cointinues for four more years it could be irreversable.
“I used to think that American freedom was something that was our birthright. I didn’t think we would be in a situation where we would be losing this great heritage, but, you know, freedom is fragile,” he stated..
DeSantis said liberty must be preserved, and it is time for Americans to stand up to do that.
“I am motivated to do it out of a sense of duty to my family, my kids, potential grandkids, and other people in our community and Florida and beyond. But I am also motivated because I have an appreciation for the sacrifices that so many Americans in previous generations have made so we can be free,” he concluded.
