ORLANDO — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis leaned into his rising star power at the first day of the Conservative Political Action Conference, railing against “wokeism” and flaunting Florida’s victories in an address that could have easily been a presidential stump speech.
Speaking to an audience of several thousands of people, DeSantis took a victory lap over Florida’s rejection of coronavirus restrictions, presented himself as a counterbalance to President Joe Biden, and evangelized an alternative to the “woke … new religion of the Left.”
“Florida has defeated Faucism. Freedom has prevailed in the Sunshine State,” said DeSantis, who has built buzz about being a presidential contender.
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He rattled off other victories, generally presenting them as something “Florida” or “we” did rather than something he did himself: enacting strong anti-riot laws as an answer to the Black Lives Matter riots of 2020, replacing three liberal state Supreme Court justices with conservative justices, and banning sanctuary cities in the state of Florida.
The Florida governor got a standing ovation for lines about banning critical race theory and replacing it with civics education and for pledging to reroute any immigrants from the U.S.-Mexico released in Florida to Delaware.
Quickly, he turned to Biden.
“There is no substitute,” DeSantis said, for “the courage to stand in the way of the Brandon administration” — a reference to Biden. “The inflation is because of his policies, and we’re not going to let him forget that.”
But a clearer sign of national leadership ambitions was his foray into conservative political philosophy, differentiating himself from other Republicans.
As inspiration, DeSantis cited former President Dwight Eisenhower’s farewell address, warning about the “dangers of a rising scientific and technological elite,” and his vision for good governance.
“The job of the statesman is not to subcontract out your policy to help bureaucrats. … The job of the statesman is to lead, to take all the interest in society, and make sure you’re doing what’s in the public good,” DeSantis said, paraphrasing Eisenhower. “So many governors over the last two years would simply defer to help bureaucrats because it was a safe thing to do politically.”
He subtly distinguished himself from centrist Republicans who focus on tax rates rather than cultural issues. People are moving to Florida, he said, “not just because we have lower taxes, because we’ve always had lower taxes. These are people who are fleeing leftist governments in this country.”
DeSantis was a clear top star of the first day of the annual gathering of conservatives, and he may be a top star of the entire three-and-a-half-day conference. Conference-goers flooded into the conference room ahead of his speech and flooded out after it. A couple in the crowd took a selfie while DeSantis spoke, being sure to frame him in the background. Others rushed to get a prime spot in a center aisle to get a good photo.
Attendee after attendee told the Washington Examiner that aside from former President Donald Trump, they were most likely to see DeSantis. For some, maybe even more so.
Devin Standard, a defense contractor who moved to Florida from New Hampshire, said that “it’s quite a toss-up” whether he is more enthusiastic about Trump or DeSantis. “I’m more of a state guy, so I prefer the state guy to the national guy.”
Buzz about a potential DeSantis presidential run, even as soon as 2024, could increase after his CPAC appearance.
American Conservative Union President Matt Schlapp, who called DeSantis “America’s Governor” in a tweet announcing that he would speak at the conference, gave DeSantis credit for CPAC being able to happen Florida rather than outside its traditional location in National Harbor, Maryland — a state currently run by the more coronavirus-conscious Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who also keeps open the possibility of running for president.
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“You name the topic, and with his steady leadership, he’s been a voice for the entire country,” Schlapp said.
A topic that DeSantis did not breach: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine the night before. As he spoke, President Joe Biden addressed the nation about his plans to sanction Russian President Vladimir Putin.
