Florida Governor Ron DeSantis rallied evangelical voters Friday at Liberty University with his vow to “wage a war on wakefulness,” but forgot to mention the restrictive new abortion law he signed into law in his state the night before.
The packed auditorium of Baptist University, founded by Reverend Jerry Falwell, greeted the governor with a standing ovation and cheers. In return, he thanked them for their support, especially during his wife Casey’s battle with breast cancer.
During his remarks, he repeated many of his previous talking points about his work in Florida, his re-election victory, and his war against Disney.
But he specifically didn’t talk about the bill he signed that would ban abortions after six weeks in Florida. With his signature, Florida joined about a dozen other states with some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country.
Ron DeSantis didn’t talk about the abortion ban he signed during his speech at his Liberty University
DeSantis flew back to Florida on Thursday after giving a speech in Ohio to sign into law. He did so without much fanfare – he simply issued a press release after signing it.
Jonathan Falwell, Liberty University’s campus chaplain, mentioned the law in his introduction of DeSantis, which was applauded by the heavily pro-life crowd, but the governor did not acknowledge the issue.
Instead, he began his remarks by thanking them for their prayers as his wife Casey battled breast cancer, saying her good health meant those prayers were being answered.
He said the couple debated in October 2021 whether she should bring out her cancer diagnosis, but eventually did. She was declared cancer free in March 2022.
“The prayers we received through that encouraged her,” he said.
“She has had many excruciating treatments and surgeries and I can tell you now that she has never been healthier and better. The prayers have been answered.’
But DeSantis’ silence on Florida’s new abortion law was deafening.
While most Republicans support banning abortion — especially long-term abortion — polls show that many think a six-week ban, like the one DeSantis just signed, goes too far. Many women do not realize they are pregnant after six weeks.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that about 50% of Americans strongly opposed a six-week abortion ban, including 44% of Republicans.
Ron DeSantis kisses Casey on the cheek at an event shortly after announcing she was breast cancer free in 2022
DeSantis’ signature to Florida’s abortion law could help him among GOP voters in a presidential primary as he solidifies his conservative credentials.
But polls also show that a majority of Americans support abortion rights.
This means the new law could dog it among independent and swing voters in national elections.
Democrats have vowed to make abortion rights a national issue in the 2024 presidential race, especially after using it to successfully mobilize voters in 2022. Republicans failed to win widespread victories in that midterm election.
DeSantis has not officially said he is running for president. But he’s on a nationwide book tour that many see as the precursor to a presidential campaign.
He will make his first stop in New Hampshire later Thursday, when he speaks for a state party fundraising dinner. He’s already made stops in key early-choice states like Iowa and Michigan.
Donald Trump already sees Florida’s governor as a threat. The two men were close at one point. Then-President Trump supported DeSantis’ first gubernatorial bid and helped him get over the top in that race.
But as DeSantis courted the conservative crowd fed up with Trump’s drama and legal woes, the former president has unleashed a firestorm on the man he has dubbed “Ron Desanctimonious.”
Trump’s team released an ad on Friday that mocked DeSantis and referenced a report that he once ate chocolate pudding with two fingers.
“Ron DeSantis likes to put his fingers where they don’t belong, and we’re not just talking about pudding,” the ad’s narrator says, showing a man’s hand sticking his fingers into a pudding cup.
Next, DeSantis is attacked for “cutting out Medicare, cutting Social Security, and even raising our retirement age.”
“Tell Ron DeSantis to keep his pudding fingers off our money,” the ad ends. “Oh, and somebody get this man a spoon.”
Polls show DeSantis as Trump’s closest competitor, even though the former president maintains a healthy double-digit lead in most surveys. That could change if DeSantis formally enters the race.
Ron DeSantis signs Florida’s abortion ban into law after six weeks
If approved, The Sunshine State — currently without an abortion ban — would join at least a dozen other states that have passed bans on abortion after six weeks, a feature that has proven polarizing because it’s often too early to conceive. to recognize
At Liberty University, where he received an honorary doctorate, DeSantis focused his speech on his time-tested talking points that he used in other speeches, about his “war” against waking culture.
Woke represents a war against the truth. We must wage a war against Wake,” he said to applause.
He discussed his work to ban gender discussion in Florida classrooms and said that no swimmer who competed on a men’s team should be able to transfer to a women’s team.
He also praised how he kept Florida open during the COVID pandemic, ignoring recommendations from medical experts.
“No governor in this country has been more attacked by legacy media and the political left than I have been, but I had to make the decision. You know, what are you doing this for? Are you in to protect your own political skin? No, you have to be willing to put the interests of the people you represent for their jobs ahead of protecting your own job,” he said.
“Leadership is really about having the courage to make tough decisions in the face of resistance and criticism,” he noted. “A leader must have the confidence to stand alone when the moment calls for it.”