Free Republic

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday that if he is elected president he would seek to close four federal agencies as part of an effort to reduce the size of government. "We would do Education, we would do Commerce, we'd do Energy, and we would do IRS," DeSantis said in an interview with Fox News’ Martha MacCallum when he was asked whether he favored closing any agencies. . . . . In the current fiscal year, the budgets for the Commerce, Energy and Education departments were $109 billion, $160 billion and $194 billion, respectively, according to government spending data.

On Monday’s broadcast of Fox News Radio’s “Brian Kilmeade Show,” 2024 Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis responded to criticisms from fellow 2024 GOP presidential candidate former President Donald Trump of DeSantis’ tenure as Governor of Florida by stating that Trump has praised Florida “for years” and “Now, he’s changed his tune and he’s saying Andrew Cuomo did better with his lockdowns in New York” than Florida did “as a free state.” DeSantis said, [relevant remarks begin around 11:15] “So, here’s the issue: He has said how great we’ve done in Florida for years. He said [I was] one...

In a phone interview with radio host Glenn Beck for the Thursday edition of The Glenn Beck Program, DeSantis finally punched back against those claims. A clip from their exchange began circulating Twitter via Citizen Free Press. “I think he did great for three years, but when he turned the country over to Fauci in March of 2020, that destroyed millions of people’s lives,” DeSantis said. “In Florida, we were one of the few that stood up, cut against the grain, took incoming fire from media, bureaucracy, the left, even a lot of Republicans, had schools open, preserved businesses.”

Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has come under fire after making changes to his personal Twitter account in preparation for a reported presidential bid announcement this week. Previously known on Twitter as @GovRonDeSantisFL, the governor’s new handle now reads @GovRonDeSantis. The decision to drop the “FL” from his handle has been interpreted by some as an act of distancing himself from the state that propelled him into the national spotlight. Critics argue that by removing the “FL,” DeSantis is effectively signaling that he views Florida as a means to an end and has little intention of continuing his service as governor...

WOW @GovRonDeSantis just changed his Twitter handle to drop the FL part of his handle. He’s done with Florida. He used Floridians as a stepping stone and never wanted to be Governor for a second term. https://t.co/V3qh4YtLje— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) May 22, 2023Ron Destablishment just removed the Florida association from his personal account Congrats, Florida. You got played. pic.twitter.com/r9WHdjEm8q— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) May 22, 2023

While echoing the policies and positions of former President Donald Trump, Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis took some veiled shots the runaway GOP primary polling leader – blasting Republicans as having been losers. "We must reject the culture of losing that has infected our party in recent years. The time for excuses is over. We've got to demonstrate the courage to lead and the strength to win." "If we make the 2024 election a referendum on Joe Biden and his failures, and if we provide a positive alternative for the future of this country, Republicans will win across the board,"...

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has chosen a finance director for his prospective presidential campaign, two sources close to DeSantis said on Thursday. Lauren Lofstrom, who served as finance director for Texas Senator Ted Cruz during his 2016 presidential campaign, is joining DeSantis' political operation and has begun meeting with the governor's allies to discuss fundraising strategies, said the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. Others who have joined DeSantis' political operation include Jason Johnson, who served as Cruz's chief strategist in 2016, the sources said.

For the first time, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has criticized former President Donald Trump for refusing to concede power following the 2020 election – in a generalized comment referencing events more than 200 years ago. DeSantis, who condemned rioters inside the Capitol where he once served, but has said little about Trump's push to have courts and allies toss out the results, made remarks during an interview with Piers Morgan, where he also blasted Trump administration chaos.

Ron DeSantis slammed President Joe Biden for laughing at a mom who lost her children to fentanyl overdose and then went after Donald Trump's COVID response in his first appearance in Iowa - as his presidential campaign announcement looms. The Republican governor of Florida made his first appearance in Iowa ahead of a report that he's telling people he will run for the White House next year. In his remarks, DeSantis went after two of his biggest foes: Trump, who would be his greatest obstacle in the race for the GOP presidential nomination, and Biden, whom he would likely battle...

Former President Trump in a new interview said he would beat Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) if the two Republicans faced each other in a 2024 primary, but noted that he does not believe the governor will run against him. “If I faced him, I'd beat him like I would beat everyone else,” Trump said during an interview with Yahoo Finance Live, set to be released on Monday. However, the former president said he does not think he will face DeSantis in 2024, adding that “I think most people would drop out, I think he would drop out.” Trump’s comments...

Former President Donald Trump is rejecting pleas from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to postpone a campaign-style rally this weekend some 200 miles from the Miami suburb where an international search-and-rescue mission is excavating bodies from the site of a collapsed seaside condominium. DeSantis’s office has "made a direct plea” to the former president’s team, calling on it to postpone the Saturday event in Sarasota. One Florida Republican bluntly said Trump and his team need to “read the room.” “The governor is getting tested here as to how far he's going to be pushed before he breaks ranks with President Trump....