Tag: DeSantis

DeSantis signs Florida gun bill as activists demand more

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Florida becomes the 26th state to allow residents to carry concealed weapons without a permit. The new legislation gives DeSantis another victory to tout as he gears up for an expected presidential campaign.
“Here in the free state of Florida, government will not get in the way of law-abiding Americans who want to defend themselves and their families,” said state Sen. Jay Collins, a Tampa Republican and sponsor of the legislation.
While DeSantis and other Republican backers have described the legislation as “constitutional carry,” supporters of gun rights have repeatedly called on GOP legislators to go further by allowing people to carry guns openly.
DeSantis has said he supports open carry, but top Republicans in the state Senate — including Senate President Kathleen Passidomo — oppose such a policy. Passidomo has cited the opposition of many of Florida’s sheriffs as a prime reason for her stance.
“The governor is weak if he cannot even get his own super majority legislature to add part of his agenda, which is open carry, to the permitless carry bill,” said Matt Collins, a gun rights supporter and former lobbyist for gun-rights groups. “It’s embarrassing for him. It’s failed leadership and it hurts his chances in the upcoming presidential primary.”
Democrats, meanwhile, sharply criticized the approval of the gun measure.
“Hiding behind closed doors and standing shoulder to shoulder with the NRA, Ron DeSantis just signed legislation that could make it easier for criminals to carry guns,” Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison said in a statement. “DeSantis knows this legislation could be dangerous for Florida families and that’s why he signed this bill with none of his usual produced fanfare.”
Florida law currently makes it a felony if someone carries a concealed weapon without a permit. There are more than 2.6 million people with concealed weapon licenses who must go through training and a background check first.

The new law, which takes effect on July 1, does not end the permitting program but instead makes it optional. Bill supporters contend many Floridians will go through the permitting process because other states recognize the licenses.
State Sen. Lauren Book, the Senate Democratic leader, also faulted Republicans for pushing ahead with what she called a “nonsensical, reckless policy” due to the “governor’s political ambition.”
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 3, 2023
Schiff criticizes DeSantis over indictment comments

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Rep. Adam Schiff, who led Trump’s first impeachment in the House and sat on the high-profile committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, called DeSantis’ comments “cowardly.” | Damian Dovarganes/AP Photo
Rep. Adam Schiff slammed Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida on Sunday for comments the likely GOP primary candidate made about former President Donald Trump’s indictment.
DeSantis is willing to “say anything, do anything in hopes of becoming president,” Schiff, a California Democrat, told MSNBC’s Jen Psaki during an interview on the former Biden press secretary’s new show, “Inside with Jen Psaki.”
DeSantis, who is expected to enter the 2024 presidential race, criticized the indictment delivered by a New York grand jury on Thursday, calling it “un-American.”
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 3, 2023
How Trump Can Squash DeSantis Once and For All

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The advice-to-DeSantis column urged him to ignore Trump’s weaknesses — his porn-star hush money liability, his vulgarity and cruelty, his serial lies. Instead, DeSantis should take aim at Trump’s strengths, such as his border wall vows, his North Korea diplomacy, his so-called populism and so on. Savaging Trump’s positives might not alone turn the election, but playing offense instead of defense would give DeSantis the agency he needs to win.
Agency is the very thing Trump must deny DeSantis. By continuing to attack DeSantis by name, Trump elevates him from wannabe to genuine contender. Blasting DeSantis with a hailstorm of criticism will only raise the governor’s name recognition and direct fatigued but curious Trump voters toward an alternative. Bad idea.
If ever a presidential candidate needed to run a Rose Garden campaign in which the incumbent denies his opponent the attention he needs to gain voter share, it’s Trump. Trump’s not the incumbent, you say? That’s not the way he sees the “rigged” 2020 election. By running for the restoration of the crown, Trump can avail himself to a virtual Rose Garden campaign of proclamations, press conferences and media events. He might even think about skipping the primary debates as beneath him, though it might be too tempting for him to pass up a format in which he excels.
By making Joe Biden his 2024 opponent instead of Ron DeSantis, Trump would rob DeSantis the dignity of being a competitor. Added to that is the fact that attacking Biden every time he opens his mouth instead of DeSantis would play to Trump’s advantage by making 2024 be seen as a Trump-Biden rematch rather than a double-elimination tournament. There is so little policy difference between Trump and DeSantis that when Trump whacks him it’s almost as if he’s whacking himself. It leaves everybody, even pundits, a little confused. But when Trump whacks Biden, a slow-moving target if ever there was one, his supporters feel the full force of his rage. And they smile.
As the pseudo-incumbent president, Trump must never allow the DeSantis name to pass through his lips. By starving his opponent of equal billing, Trump could turn DeSantis into a no-name nobody unworthy of consideration. But that doesn’t mean Trump should ignore DeSantis. Just the opposite. This would only require a slight modification of Trump’s current strategy.
Instead of relying on lame nicknames like “Meatball Ron,” “Ron Desanctimonius,” and “Shutdown Ron,” Trump could disparage and diminish his opponent with a steady stream of oblique but stinging references. “There’s this kid from Florida…” Trump could say. “Have you heard about this Florida RINO who thinks he can be president?” “There’s this Jeb Bush Republican who wants to take your Social Security away.”
By taking advantage of DeSantis’ status as a relatively unknown nationally, Trump could portray him as an old school Republican who was for the Covid shutdown before he was against it, as a humorless whiner, as a paint-by-numbers, flip-flopping politician unworthy of graduation from governor to president, and just another palooka like the line-up Trump vanquished during the 2016 primaries.
Trump, who possesses the comic timing of a Vegas headliner, could make a running joke out of DeSantis, coloring him like a blank slate into whatever picture he wants. No offense meant to supermarket managers, but DeSantis looks like one, and Trump should capitalize on his lookist talents by ridiculing DeSantis’ very person — his whiny voice, his knickers-in-a-twist mien before the microphone and his dull rhetoric. Do we really need to remind Trump of his great skills as a political bully? As the original prophet who lived on locusts and wild honey in the desert, he should act like it!

DeSantis understands that voters crave fresh meat with their elections, hence his campaigns against DEI programs, critical race theory, LGBTQ issues, “woke” this and that, and his support for book bans and school choice. Trump’s policy shop has lagged in coming up with new issues upon which he can rage, which has made him a little bit of a copycat candidate. It might not be too late for Trump to carve a piece of this action out for himself, but surely the fellow who came up with the Wall and the Muslim ban can do better. His idea for futuristic “Freedom Cities” built on government land and sporting vertical-takeoff-and-landing vehicles is a good start. Who doesn’t want to live like the Jetsons? But one new idea he seems ready to advocate, the invasion of Mexico to destroy the drug cartels, might not be the ticket. For one thing, he can’t very well damage what wall he did build with an assault on our southern neighbor. Whatever he decides, he must stop resting on his demagogic laurels! A nation hungers for political entertainment!
Trump should remind voters that he was a president who kept America out of war, helped calm the Middle East, took on China, got Europe to pay its NATO bills, helped defeat ISIS, moved the embassy to Jerusalem and jawboned the Iranians. Trump can sketch DeSantis as a governor, a mere road-paver, and not a president you can go into war with. What, Trump might ask aloud, has the pudgy Tallahassee briefcase-toter accomplished? Fought Disney for months upon months and got beaten thanks to a legal loophole?
Treat DeSantis like a shadow. Invent some new issues to campaign on. Hammer Biden at every rally and TV appearance. And prepare for November 2024.
******
I look like a supermarket manager, too. Note to the Federal Election Commission: This is not an in-kind campaign contribution. Send new Trump policy ideas to [email protected]. No new email alert subscriptions are being honored at this time. My Twitter feed longs for another Carly Fiorina campaign. My Mastodon account is as pasty as Ron DeSantis. My Post account always votes for Harold Stassen. My RSS feed would never vote for a Harvard Law School graduate.

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#Trump #Squash #DeSantis
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 31, 2023
DeSantis calls Trump indictment ‘un-American’ and says he won’t assist in extradition

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“The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head. It is un-American,” DeSantis said on Twitter. “The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent.”
“Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda,” he continued.
Under Florida law, the governor can intervene in an extradition matter if it is contested. But as of now, Trump’s lawyers have indicated that Trump is expected to surrender.
DeSantis’ stance on the indictment was being closely anticipated because, as a likely political rival, he has been hit hard by Trump and his allies in recent weeks, including over his previous comments on Trump’s legal troubles when he said: “I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair.”
Trump is currently connected to several ongoing investigations, including one over his handling of classified documents at his Florida home at Mar-a-Lago and an ongoing probe in Atlanta.

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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 31, 2023
Florida lawmakers hand DeSantis political win on guns

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Florida lawmakers approved the legislation just days after a school shooting in Nashville claimed the lives of three children, prompting emotional pleas from Democratic legislators who called the measure a step back after Florida enacted several gun restrictions in the immediate aftermath of the 2018 Parkland massacre where 17 people were killed.
“It’s shameful, it’s disrespectful to the Parkland families and every other Floridian who has lost a loved one to gun violence,” said state Sen. Lori Berman (D-West Palm Beach).
Florida joins a wave of other red states that have pushed ahead with new laws sought by gun rights supporters. Texas, Virginia, Ohio and a handful of other states have all sought to loosen gun restrictions and more than two dozen states have enacted laws similar to the one Florida approved Thursday.
Although DeSantis had signaled for months that he supports the legislation, supporters of gun rights have repeatedly called on GOP legislators to go further and allow people to in the state to carry guns openly. On Thursday, they criticized DeSantis for not going further.
“This bill is a half-measure and is not what gun owners were promised,” said Matt Collins, a gun rights supporter and former lobbyist for gun rights groups. “It isn’t true constitutional carry because it doesn’t include an open-carry provision. This bill is weak and failed leadership on part of Governor DeSantis and the Republican legislative leadership. Gun owners deserve better.”
Republicans in Florida have controlled the Legislature for more than 20 years and have gradually loosened gun restrictions. But right after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, they voted to raise the age requirement to purchase a rifle and enacted a “red flag” law that allows law enforcement officials to ask a judge to remove guns from someone who is a threat to themselves or others.
DeSantis — while campaigning for governor back in 2018 — said he would have not signed that Parkland measure into law. The Florida House has been moving a bill to roll back the age requirement to 18, which it what it was when Nikolas Cruz purchased the semi-automatic rifle he used at Parkland. GOP Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, however, has said she does not support lowering the age restriction.
DeSantis has said that was in favor of open carry, but Passidomo and some other Republican legislators were opposed to letting residents carry guns in public, citing the opposition of many Florida sheriffs.

Florida law currently makes it a felony if someone carries a concealed weapon without a permit. There are more than 2.64 million people with concealed weapon licenses who must go through training and a background check first. The new law — which takes effect on July 1 — does not end the permitting program but instead makes it optional. Bill supporters contend many Floridians will go through the permitting process because other state recognize the licenses.
The Senate voted 28-13 — with Miami Republican Sen. Ileana Garcia joining all 12 Democrats in opposition — to send the measure to DeSantis’ desk. The Florida House passed the legislation by a 76-32 vote last week.
Ahead of the vote, there was a polarizing debate that followed the same divide over guns that took place nationally after tragic mass shootings as both sides exchanged barbs over constitutional rights and whether ending the state’s permitting program would lead to an uptick in gun related deaths.
“This bill attempts to return the God given rights of humanity, the God given rights of self-defense,” said state Sen. Jonathan Martin (R-Fort Myers).
“I’ve looked all through the Bible,” retorted Sen. Bobby Powell. “There’s no scripture that talks about guns in the Bible. That God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten gun is not in there.”
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#Florida #lawmakers #hand #DeSantis #political #win #guns
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 31, 2023
Ron DeSantis: The Recast Power List

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Ron DeSantis, for Florida's culture wars

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#Ron #DeSantis #Recast #Power #List
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 31, 2023
DeSantis’ pitch to New York donors: I’m not a chaos agent

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In meetings with other wealthy businessmen, DeSantis has been even more explicit, portraying himself as an obvious choice for anyone frustrated by the former president Donald Trump’s legal troubles and antics.
In the case of Lauder, DeSantis’ audience was well-chosen. The businessman has not been shy about his frustration with Trump, whom he backed in past races.
Through a spokesperson, Lauder declined to comment.
DeSantis’ spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
“I’m no drama. I’m no chaos,” one New York businessman said in paraphrasing the pitch the Florida governor made to other well-heeled New Yorkers. “I’m calm, cool and collected. Very focused.”
That businessman, who continues to support the former president and counts him as a friend, said DeSantis has reached out to New York real estate moguls who own property in Florida. To that end, both DeSantis and Trump attended the wedding of real estate investor Steve Witkoff’s son in Palm Beach last year.
In meetings, DeSantis emphasizes his military background and his record of getting “points on the scoreboard” as governor of the increasingly Republican state, said the person — who was granted anonymity to share details of private discussions.
“From what I’ve heard, he does not say President Trump is drama and chaos. He just says he’s not. So, what is that implying?” the person said.

The message mirrors DeSantis’ comments in a recent interview with Fox Nation’s Piers Morgan, during which he questioned Trump’s style and said: “I have what it takes to be president and I can beat Biden.”
The outreach by DeSantis provides a window into the early calculations he and his team have made as they ready themselves for a presidential run. The governor has made a name for himself castigating corporate America, while also leaning on top finance figures for financial support. His team sees New York donors as prime turf, not only for their deep pockets but also because many of them backed Trump out of convenience rather than a shared ideology with his MAGA base.
“Governor DeSantis is a conservative who is widely viewed as being far more electable than Trump in a general election. Given that he has the conservative policy minus the baggage, minus the legal problems, it’s no surprise that he would find some success among New York’s most important conservative donors,” Jon Reinish, a Democratic political consultant, said in an interview.
DeSantis, who plans to deliver remarks on Long Island Saturday evening, has recently been struggling with sagging poll numbers, news cycles dominated by Trump and an initial statement casting skepticism on support for the Ukraine war that disappointed some Republicans.
Just how big a draw DeSantis is for the New York crowd could be revealed in upcoming filings of super PACs that are boosting his expected candidacy, including one chaired by former Trump official Ken Cuccinelli. A filing for that committee is expected next month.
Interviews with six people across senior levels of Wall Street’s biggest banks revealed an intense desire for a GOP candidate who could deny Trump the nomination. While the finance industry appreciated Trump’s tax cuts — partially designed by former Goldman Sachs executive Gary Cohn during his time in Trump’s White House — they grew to loathe his protectionist trade policies, penchant for attacking individual companies and firing off market-shaking tweets. His unwillingness to forcefully condemn white nationalist groups further alienated him from the industry.
“Look there is no question that some of what he did was good for us,” a top executive at one of America’s largest banks said on condition of anonymity so as not to draw Trump’s fire. “But he’s bad for America. And ultimately that’s bad for us. And most of our employees can’t stand him.”
Ben White and Sam Sutton contributed to this report.
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#DeSantis #pitch #York #donors #chaos #agent
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 30, 2023
Fox poll shows Trump’s lead over DeSantis growing

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Trump has been ramping up attacks on the likely 2024 contender. On Wednesday, he posted three new videos on Truth Social, the social media company he helped found, criticizing the governor for both his past policy decisions and his falling poll numbers.
The Fox poll was one of a handful released in recent days that show the former president widening his lead over DeSantis. In a Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday, Trump had the support of 47 percent of Republican and Republican-leaning voters, well above DeSantis’ 33 percent. A Morning Consult survey from earlier this month showed Trump with a 54-to-26 percent lead over DeSantis among potential GOP primary voters.
Trump’s growing lead in the polls comes amid a flurry of news over a potential indictment of the former president in a case related to a $130,000 hush money payment made to porn actress Stormy Daniels in 2016. Though an indictment appeared imminent earlier this month, it was reported Wednesday that the Manhattan grand jury investigating the allegations isn’t expected to hear additional evidence in the case for the next month.
In the Fox GOP poll, former Vice President Mike Pence drew 6 percent, followed by former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley at 3 percent each, with other Republicans trailing behind.
The poll also showed President Joe Biden with an approval rating of 44 percent, same as last month.
Fox polled 1,007 randomly selected registered voters from March 24 to March 27. The margin of error of the poll was plus or minus 3 percentage points, though that margin was slightly larger — plus or minus 4.5 percentage points — for the results of the Republican primary ballot.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 30, 2023
DeSantis heading to Israel ahead of likely 2024 bid

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His trip, however, comes in the wake of ongoing turmoil in Israel over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans for a judicial overhaul. Netanyahu announced a delay in those plans on Monday following a wave of protests and worker strikes. The unrest caused airlines to ground flights and businesses closed their doors.
The visit to Israel will come a few months after he met face-to-face in Tallahassee with Michael Herzog, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., along with Yousef Al Otaiba, the ambassador from the United Arab Emirates and Maor Elbaz-Starinsky, the consul general of Israel in Miami.
The release about DeSantis’ visit said he will speak about the importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship before a group of roughly 400 participants, including 120 U.S. Jewish philanthropists.
“At a time of unnecessarily strained relations between Jerusalem and Washington, Florida serves as a bridge between the American and Israeli people,” DeSantis said in a statement.
The governor’s decision to make a speech in Israel is sure to garner outsized attention given his rising prominence among Republicans and conservatives.
DeSantis’ positions on foreign policy have begun to draw more attention as his likely campaign for president become more likely. His statement that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was a “territorial dispute” drew scorn from other Republicans, including Florida GOP Sen. Marco Rubio.
After those remarks were distributed on Fox News, DeSantis called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” in a subsequent interview.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 28, 2023
DeSantis draws second ethics complaint over presidential ramp-up

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Nikki Fried, the chair of the Democratic Party, filed a complaint late last week with the Florida Commission on Ethics that alleges that the committee’s spending violates a Florida law that bars spending money on activities that are unrelated to the political work of the committee. The committee was initially set up to aid DeSantis in his race for governor.
“This is yet another example of Ron DeSantis arrogantly thinking he is above the law. No one is above the law,” Fried said. “While Floridians face some of the highest property insurance and mortgage rates in the state’s history, DeSantis is hobnobbing with special interest donors and lining his pockets with freebies.”
Taryn Fenske, a spokesperson for DeSantis, quickly dismissed the complaint, which is similar to one filed earlier this month by a super PAC that supports former President Donald Trump.
“Just like the one from two weeks ago, we’ll just add this to the list of frivolous & politically motivated attacks,” Fenske said on Twitter. “Louder for the Dems in the back: It’s inappropriate to use ethics complaints for partisan purposes.”
Evan Power, the vice chair of the Republican Party of Florida who had filed an ethics complaint against Fried when she was still agriculture commissioner, lashed out as well.
“Nikki Fried filing an ethics complaint is like asking Freddy [Krueger] to set up a first aid tent,” Power said in a statement. The ethics commission this month agreed to drop the case against Fried.
The brief complaint filed by the Democratic Party is much more focused than the one outlined by the head of Make America Great Again, the super PAC backing Trump. It contends that other improper spending by the committee also includes $142,000 spent on an event at a Miami hotel, along with nearly $12,000 spent at a Miami steak restaurant as well as money spent on DeSantis merchandise like promotional tumblers and t-shirts.
In Florida, political committees can accept unlimited donations from any donor. And in the past, the state panels that regulate ethics and campaign finance have given wide latitude on the type of spending allowed by these committees.

DeSantis is expected to formally launch a run for president later this year, and he has been holding events to promote his new memoir — and his “Florida blueprint” — in events both in Florida and select states including Iowa and Nevada.
The ethics complaints filed against DeSantis and his political committee may not be resolved quickly. The process can take months for the ethics commission to determine whether there is a legal basis for the complaint and to investigate it.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 28, 2023