Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has kicked off his presidential campaign with a rally at Eternity Church in Clive, Iowa, marking his first in-person event since announcing his presidential run on Twitter last week.[0] DeSantis is set to return to Iowa on Saturday for Sen. Joni Ernst’s Roast and Ride event, which will be attended by other major declared and likely candidates, including former President Donald Trump.[1] Speaking to Fox News, DeSantis said he will focus his fire on President Biden, but he did not shy away from attacking Trump, who he said has “taken the side of Disney in our fight down here in Florida, I’m standing for parents, I’m standing for children, and I think a multi-billion dollar company that sexualizes children is not consistent with the values of Florida or the values of a place like Iowa.” Recent polls show Trump leads DeSantis by more than 2-1 in national polls and by a huge 42% in one recent survey of Iowa Republicans. Despite this, DeSantis remains confident, stating that he has shown in Florida an ability to win huge swaths of voters that Republicans typically can’t win, while also delivering the boldest agenda anywhere in the country.[2]
0. “DeSantis expected to contrast himself with Trump as campaign kicks off in Iowa” CBS News, 31 May. 2023, https://www.cbsnews.com/video/desantis-expected-to-contrast-himself-with-trump-as-campaign-kicks-off-in-iowa
1. “DeSantis says he’ll ‘counterpunch’ against Trump attacks after kicking off 2024 campaign in Iowa” CNN, 31 May. 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/30/politics/desantis-iowa-2024/index.html
2. “DeSantis Tells ‘Fox and Friends’ He ‘Will Destroy Leftism in America,’ ‘Leave Woke Ideology’ in the ‘Dustbin of History’ (Video)” Yahoo Life, 29 May. 2023, https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/desantis-tells-fox-friends-destroy-222429178.html
