Governor Ron DeSantis Speaks at the California GOP Convention
Governor DeSantis on stage at the California GOP convention on September 29, 2023
ANAHEIM—Ron DeSantis, current Governor of Florida and 2024 candidate for President of the United States, spoke at the Friday night dinner September 29, 2023 for the California Republican Party convention. A few hundred attendees paid $400 for general seating or $500 for preferred seating to hear Governor DeSantis speak.
Jessica Millan Patterson, chairwoman of the California Republican Party, introduced Governor DeSantis by describing some of his achievements, adding that he is creating “a safe place to raise a family.”
Some Competitive Jabs
DeSantis began the evening with a few humorous quips, including, “we’re a little close to Disneyland,” joking that perhaps he wouldn’t be allowed near Anaheim. DeSantis also said that he wouldn’t be using teleprompters or a written speech for this event, which was likely a dig at Donald J. Trump, who used teleprompters for his own speech in the afternoon. He spoke “off the cuff” for the evening, speaking quickly without a pause except for applause.
Upset at what he believes California leaders have done to their state, he explained, “Growing up in Florida, I never remember seeing a single California license plate in my life. Fast forward 15 years later and I become governor and all of a sudden, I see a sea of California license plates in the State of Florida,” DeSantis remarked, perhaps in an attempt to commiserate with his audience about the state of California today and how many are moving away. He also pointed out some positives about California, including its beautiful weather.
Earlier in the day, Donald J. Trump had joked, “I’m the one who turned Florida red, not him,” speaking of DeSantis, and so DeSantis took his chance to reply, “I just wish that if he was the one that had turned Florida red, that he wouldn’t have turned Georgia and Arizona blue.” DeSantis recited a quote that President Ronald Reagan would refer to often, which said, “There’s no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.”
Leadership
Governor DeSantis shared his disappointment in what he felt was a lack of leadership. “The Republican Party in recent years has been long on rhetoric, long on sending emails asking for money, and short on results,” he said. “In Florida, we have produced results that are second to none,” he explained. “I’m the only guy on that stage that’s actually delivered on every single issue that we’re talking about as Republicans.”
DeSantis gives remarks at the California GOP convention in Anaheim on September 29, 2023
For DeSantis, leadership means standing up even against large companies that disagree with him: “When the most powerful company is bearing down on us I will stand up against them.” This even includes how he deals with other countries - “We have banned the purchase of land by the Chinese communist party.”
DeSantis on Education
One area of leadership DeSantis feels strongly about is education. “You as a parent have a right to know what is being taught in your child’s school. Curriculum transparency,” he said, adding with emphasis, “Leave our kids alone.”
He noted that Florida is ranked number one in education by U.S. News and World Report and is also ranked number one in educational freedom by the American Legislative Exchange Council.
One anecdote he shared centered around material he deemed inappropriate for children. Opponents told him he was banning books, and he explained the books are not banned but still available for adults to read to their own children if they choose. He did not want them taught in schools.
“We did a press conference about six or seven months ago [about the book ban vote]. Instead of me going to the podium and talking about it, before I stepped up, before any of the parents stepped up, we just played on the video screen the images of the books that the parents had objected to. The news stations who were covering that press conference had to cut their feeds because they said it was too graphic to put on the air. Well if it’s too graphic for the six o’clock news, how is it ok for a ten-year-old school child?”
Stand for What’s Right
DeSantis continued on the theme of leadership even more strongly toward the end of his remarks. “The way our society functions now, when you stand up for what’s right, when you’re exercising leadership… you could just be a concerned citizen. You could be a mom going to a school board meeting.” He mentioned that it doesn’t come without its consequences, saying that “the left will come out for you.” He said with a note of understanding that due to these consequences, people might “not want to get out there, to not want to put up with it,” because “it can be nasty. It can be tough.” But, he explained, if people can put a uniform on and fight for us, that’s the least we can do. “Let’s resolve to take the next year, year and half, … we are bringing a message of hope,... renewal… freedom. [...] We have got to carry the message.”
Governor DeSantis ended, “I’m not backing down. We’ve got a country to save. Let's get the job done.”