Ron DeSantis officially announced that he will run in the next presidential election. Following the official announcement on Twitter, the Florida governor stopped by Fox News to give his first interview as a presidential candidate. There, he gave a brief overview of his policy platform, which focuses on reversing the policies of the Biden Administration and righting the ship toward a "great American comeback."
The Republican will be the strongest challenger to Donald Trump in the Republican primaries, given that he was the only one who ever gave him serious competition in the polls. He will try to convince voters that the former president is part of the party's past, something the Never Back Down PAC hinted at in a recent ad. As seen in the short film, a man sticks a DeSantis sticker over the former president's, symbolizing a renewal.
What would a DeSantis Administration look like?
Now in the shoes of a presidential candidate, DeSantis gave his first interview to Fox News. Hand in hand with Trey Gowdy, who was his colleague in Congress for years, he briefly reviewed the main points of his political agenda.
When asked about the timing of his decision to seek the most powerful office in the world, the Florida governor said that the country is headed in the "wrong direction," which makes him feel like he is back in the 1970s. He sees in his state an "unprecedented success" whose management model can correct the course of the United States.
What would he do to lower inflation? According to DeSantis, the problem is apparent: "overspending" is causing prices to rise. Therefore, it is necessary to "spend less money" to "maintain a stable dollar."
He also had words for the Department of Justice, which he accused of being too "politicized." He blamed this on past administrations, both Democratic and Republican.
He promised to declare a "national emergency" on the first day to ensure border security. He also mentioned his intentions to resume construction of the wall and reinstate the "Remain in Mexico" policy. In short, "no one has the right to come illegally to our country."
DeSantis also devoted a few minutes to school choice and guaranteed that under his leadership, parents would have the right to have a voice in their children's education. When asked about what the role of a president should be, the Republican indicated that, at this particular moment, he should be willing to "tell the truth" while criticizing the woke culture as an "attack on the truth."
He indirectly referred to former President Trump, stating that they can call him(DeSantis) anything they want, as long as they also call him "winner." He then recalled his margin of victory in his 2022 gubernatorial reelection, in which he beat his Democratic rival by 20 percentage points.
The governor named his first three priorities as president, which would be, in order of importance, to solve illegal immigration at the border, reverse Biden's energy policy and restructure the federal government.
There was also time to talk about the international scene, where he plans to make his mark. In a clear departure from previous administrations, he mentioned his backyard, Latin America, as a place plagued by leftist governments. In addition, he cited China as his biggest rival for the future.
