TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA — Last week in an interview with Newsmax’s Eric Bolling, Governor Ron DeSantis said rumors that he is a “RINO” are laughable. The term Republican In Name Only – or “RINO” for short – is a disparaging term that refers to a Republican whose actual political views do not conform to the party line.
DESANTIS’ RECORD IN FLORIDA
“I mean, all people have to do is just open their eyes. There hasn’t been a bolder governor in the country,” DeSantis told Bolling.
“I mean, who was taking on the establishment during COVID? Me. Everything we did in Florida from April of 2020 to the present I did against people like Dr. Anthony Fauci, the corporate media, a lot of the other entrenched bureaucracies and we made sure that the state was able to thrive,” DeSantis contended. “I was pilloried for those decisions at the time. But now you look and see how well we have done.”
Last year when the governor signed Florida’s Parental Rights in Education, he said that parents should not have to worry about ideology imposed on their young kids.
“You should not be telling a kid in school that they may have been born in the wrong body.”
STANDOFF WITH DISNEY
“Well, some people didn’t like that, including the strongest, most powerful corporation in the history of Florida, Walt Disney. And so they came out against it, tried to kill the bill, tried to get me to veto it. I rejected that and signed the bill,” DeSantis said.
The governor says his administration, in cooperation with the Legislature, has been ahead of important issues and have delivered huge victories for Floridians.
“RINO GLOBALIST”
In February, former President Trump accused Governor Ron DeSantis of being a “RINO Globalist” in an attack on the governor for closing Florida during the pandemic. But DeSantis hit back, defending his COVID-19 record.
“I roll out of bed. I have people attacking me from all angles,” the Florida governor said at a press conference. “It’s been happening for many, many years.”
“When you’re an elected executive, you have to make all kinds of decisions. You got to steer that ship,” DeSantis said. “And the good thing is… is that the people are able to render a judgment on that – whether they re-elect you or not.”
DeSantis was re-elected for a second term by the highest vote percentage of any Republican governor in Florida’s history.
