Ron DeSantis

Ron DeSantis    (Soldier, Politician, Maverick)
The Governor of Florida is a candidate in the US/2024 Presidential election
Born	Ronald Dion DeSantis 14 September 1978 Jacksonville, Florida, USA
Alma mater	Yale University, Harvard University
Religion	Christian
Spouse	Casey Black
Interests	Lockdowns
Party	Republican Party
A frontrunner for the Republican Party Presidential nomination in 2024.  Governor of Florida  In office 8 January 2019 - Present Preceded by Rick Scott  United States Representative from Florida In office January 3, 2013 - September 10, 2018 Preceded by Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

Ron DeSantis is the Governor of Florida. He was elected in 2018, defeating Democratic nominee, Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum in an extremely close election; reelected in a landslide victory in the 2022 Florida gubernatorial election - his 19.4% margin of victory was the state's largest in 40 years. Since DeSantis led the soft lockdown's and early opening of Florida during the Covid pandemic DeSantis became named as a possible candidate for president in 2024. Part of the media took a hostile stance towards him for his Covid policies.

By September 2023, his presidential campaign was considered to be on the decline.

Background

Desantis did History at Yale University.

Guantanamo Bay

In 2004, during his second year at Harvard Law, DeSantis was commissioned an officer in the U.S. Navy and assigned to the Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG). He completed Naval Justice School in 2005. Later that year, he received orders to the JAG Trial Service Office Command South East at Naval Station Mayport, Florida, as a prosecutor. He was promoted from lieutenant, junior grade to lieutenant in 2006. He worked for the commander of Joint Task Force-Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO), working directly with detainees at the Guantanamo Bay Joint Detention Facility. In 2007, DeSantis reported to the Naval Special Warfare Command Group in Coronado, California, where he was assigned to SEAL Team One and deployed to Iraq.

Michael Prysner interviewed Mansur al-Dayfi (a 16 year inmate of Guantanamo Bay) in November 2022. From the interview it is learned that:

• DeSantis and others were brought in during a hunger strike in 2005 (at a time force feeding was not yet approved), which turned into a political problem for Bush administration (in another interview with Democracy Now al-Dayfi said that he came close to death back then )
• DeSantis introduced himself as a someone who wanted to help the detainees, help the humanitarian situation
• according to al-Dayfi, Ron DeSantis actually helped to make the situation more unbearable and attended force-feeding sessions amused and/or laughing, beating and usage of pepper-spray were common at the time, as was sleep deprivation - it was the worst time during his 16 year incarceration
• three leaders of the hunger strike were murdered during the time DeSantis was there, Prysner wonders how much DeSantis knew about this incident.

Policies

• Opposed to vaccine passports, lockdowns and critical of Fauci;
• Banned mask mandates in schools;
• Anti Russiagate;
• Opposes Gun control;
• Enacted legislation to minimize election fraud in Florida;
• Supports term limits;
• Pro Ukraine;

COVID-19

In July 2020, when Florida had 5,800 deaths per day, The Washington Post reported that DeSantis relied on his wife, a former television reporter, and his chief of staff, a former hospital executive for daily advice, ignoring immunologists.

Abortion

On April 14, 2022, he signed into law a bill that bans elective abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy; under the previous law, the limit had been 24 weeks. The law includes exceptions permitting termination of a viable pregnancy beyond 15 weeks if at least two physicians certify that it is necessary to avert a "serious risk" to the pregnant woman's physical health or that the fetus has a "fatal fetal abnormality", but does not make exceptions for rape, human trafficking, incest, or mental health.

Israel

DeSantis tweeted in 2019:

"I promised to be the most pro-Israel Governor in America and our bold agenda for my upcoming Business Development Mission to Israel includes many historic firsts and strengthens Florida’s ties with Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East."

He flew to Israel in 2023 to sign legislation to combat antisemitism, the law is criticized as being "nakedly unconstitutional" for restricting the 1st amendment. This was the second visit of this kind, the first was in 2019.

Opinions

“Politicians want to force you to cover your face as a way for them to cover their own asses that's just the truth they want to be able to say they're taking this on and they're doing this even though it's not proven to be effective they want to continue to do it”
Ron DeSantis (22 August 2021) 

Elon Musk

DeSantis partnered with Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, Inc., to use the Starlink satellite Internet service to help restore communication across the state.

Platformization

In response to social media networks removing Donald Trump from their platforms, DeSantis and other Florida Republicans pushed legislation in the Florida legislature to prohibit technology companies from deplatforming political candidates. A federal judge blocked the law by preliminary injunction the day before it was to take effect, on the grounds that it violated the First Amendment and federal law.

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