Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been touting the success of his anti-woke agenda in the Sunshine State, and many are speculating he is prepping for a 2024 presidential run.
The governor recently ended Disney’s self-governing status by signing legislation last month, HB 9B, which renamed the Reedy Creek Improvement District, where Disney World is housed, to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District that may only have term-limited members who are not recent employees or have been contracted by Disney in the past three years.
The measure also revoked Disney’s exemptions from the Florida building code, Florida fire prevention code, and state regulatory reviews.
I signed legislation to end Disney’s self-governing status, placed the area in state receivership, and appointed 5 members to a state control board.
Disney no longer has its own government, will live under the same laws as everyone else and pay its debts and fair share of taxes. pic.twitter.com/5JnZmEjSdv
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) February 27, 2023
“I think we have to recognize the left is trying to impose its agenda through all of our arteries in society, including corporate America. And so part of my job to protect the freedoms of my citizens is to ensure that the left is not able to impose their agenda on them through corporate America, through bureaucracy, through universities,” DeSantis told Maria Bartiromo.
“The fight with Disney was really about who governs the state of Florida,” he continued. “I think they thought for 60 years they called the shots. Well, there’s a new sheriff in town, and we call the shots, and we made that very clear.”
DeSantis has also credited Florida’s success to its low taxes and law and order policies, which have been attracting investment across the state and driving population growth. Data released by the Census Bureau last month showed Florida’s population grew to 22,244,823 between 2021 and 2022, an increase of 1.9% in one year.
Florida broke our visitation record with more than 137.6 million visitors in 2022, and this was in spite of the Biden Administration’s unscientific vax mandate for oversea travelers. pic.twitter.com/ijGe9sAq5W
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 5, 2023
To further show his support for law enforcement, DeSantis recently embarked on a pro-police tour across a series of Democrat-run cities last month.
Despite not officially announcing his plans to enter the 2024 election, DeSantis has reportedly confirmed privately to confidants his intention of running. The governor is not expected to announce his entry into the 2024 race until after the Florida state legislative session ends in May.
DeSantis has also said that he puts the interests of the people he represents and their jobs over his own interests in keeping his own job.
It remains to be seen if DeSantis’ anti-woke agenda will be enough to propel him to the White House in 2024. But with the governor’s focus on low taxes and law and order policies, Florida’s population growth and investment, and his pro-police tour, it is clear that DeSantis is making a strong case for his presidential bid.
