SURFSIDE, Florida — Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) ripped President Joe Biden and his administration in a foreign policy-heavy speech during the closing weeks of his gubernatorial reelection campaign against Charlie Crist (D-FL).
DeSantis criticized Biden’s “miscalculation,” specifically his energy policy amid economic upheaval and reports his aides are considering easing restrictions on Venezuelan oil to put downward pressure on gas prices.
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“It’s part of miscalculation writ large, what we’re seeing geopolitically,” he said Sunday. “Having our own domestic energy production makes us more secure. We don’t have to worry about the Iranians. We don’t have to worry about [disputed Venezuelan President Nicolas] Maduro. We can handle our destiny.”
The Forward Action Fund event at the Shul of Bal Harbor, blocks away from the collapsed apartment building, was hosted to underscore DeSantis’s parental rights and pro-Israel positions.
For example, pledging to expand school choice programs and to ensure children learn about the Holocaust in Florida’s curriculum, DeSantis condemned teaching youngsters about “gender ideology” in remarks that amplified promises he has kept during his first term without mentioning his opponent.
“That should not be imposed on all these students when the majority of families do not want that in the school system,” he said, promoting the number of people who have moved to Florida under his stewardship and his pandemic response.
Outside the Jewish community center an hour before DeSantis was due onstage, supporters on motorcycles milled alongside a fan with a homemade “Gays for DeSantis” sign. Inside, attendees received placards reading “Faith, Family, Freedom,” “DeSantis Puts Students First,” and “Education Choice = Education Freedom.”
WATCH: @RonDeSantisFL surprises @countrythunder on stage in Kissimmee, Florida last night and the crowd goes crazy. ?? pic.twitter.com/ShWjDp2uND
— Team DeSantis ? (@teamrondesantis) October 23, 2022
DeSantis returned to the trail last weekend after briefly suspending operations to deal with deadly Hurricane Ian. The governor’s scheduled stops Saturday in central Florida’s Democratic-leaning Polk City and Orange County were supplemented by a cameo at Country Thunder in Kissimmee.
“Are you glad to live in the free state of Florida?” DeSantis asked the crowd, tweaking his slogan “Keep Florida Free.”
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FiveThirtyEight predicts DeSantis will defeat Crist with a 10 percentage point margin of victory, 54% to 44%. The election prognosticators have the governor polling an average of 7 points ahead, 50% to 43%. In comparison, RealClearPolitics calculates that DeSantis has a 10-point average lead, 51% to 41%.
