DeSantis tears into Biden, COVID-19 measures at CPAC

ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) lashed out on Thursday against national Democrats, COVID-19 restrictions and other perceived attacks on “freedom” in a speech that is likely to fuel speculation about a potential 2024 presidential bid.

The roughly 20-minute speech at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) was, in essence, a rundown of the grievances and political victories that have helped make DeSantis a conservative superstar, both in Florida and nationally.

He boasted that under his leadership, Florida had rejected the “biomedical security state” amid the COVID-19 pandemic and had prohibited the use of public health measures like vaccine mandates. At several points in his speech, DeSantis received standing ovations, including after he said that his state had banned the teaching of critical race theory in schools.

“Florida led when it counted. We led early on when the weight of the world was bearing down on our shoulders,” DeSantis said. “We understand what it means to be a leader. Not just be a politician that twists in the wind but be willing to make tough decisions.”

Notably absent from DeSantis’s speech was any mention of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Instead, he took aim at allied countries — Canada and Australia — for imposing stricter measures in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I really believe had Florida not led the way, this country could look like Canada or Australia,” he said. “We sometimes take freedom for granted. You should not do that over the last two years.”

DeSantis’s remarks are likely to only fuel chatter of a potential bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. While he’s facing reelection this year, his speech on Thursday looked far beyond the borders of his state and touched on national topics that have come to dominate conservative politics.

He took aim at President Biden, whom he claimed “hates Florida.” He took several shots at Anthony Fauci, Biden’s chief medical adviser, saying at one point that he “refused to let this state descend into some kind of Faucian dystopia.”

Even before he took the stage on Thursday, DeSantis was greeted with a video that cast him as a bulwark against Democrats like Biden and Stacey Abrams, the candidate for Georgia governor who has achieved superstar status among Democrats nationally.

While DeSantis has so far dismissed questions about his future ambitions, he has also refused to say publicly whether he would run for president in 2024 if former President Trump, a longtime political ally, decided to mount another bid for the White House. Unlike many other speakers at CPAC, DeSantis’s remarks made no mention of the former president.

Instead, he made clear that he was interested in keeping the criticism on Biden, who has said that he plans to run for a second term in the Oval Office in 2024.

“He doesn’t like Florida and he doesn’t like me because we stand up to him,” DeSantis said.