Free Republic

RON DESANTIS IS BACK TO RUNNING Florida’s government. But he hasn’t really stopped running for president. Next month, DeSantis hosts a two-day presidential-donor gathering at the Hard Rock Hotel in South Florida that’s billed as—don’t call it a “fundraiser”—an “Investor Appreciation Retreat.” It’s the latest phase of an image makeover DeSantis started after he officially dropped out of the 2024 race on January 21 and endorsed Donald Trump. For the past month, DeSantis has hosted one-on-one thank-you calls with donors, small meetings with more of these “investors” in Naples and in Miami, and conference calls with former volunteers. In a...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will speak at a press conference in St. Petersburg on Wednesday. DeSantis will be joined by Florida Department of High Safety and Motor Vehicles Executive Director Dave Kerner at The Urban Stillhouse. You can watch the governor live on this page.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis believes Democrats don't stand a chance in the Sunshine State going forward. This comes as reports indicate registered GOP voters now outpace Democrats by nearly 900,000. "You're talking about a million plus voter registration shift," DeSantis told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo, claiming older numbers indicated Republicans were behind their Democratic adversaries by nearly 300,000 registered voters in 2018. "Part of that, I think, is a response locally where people are more likely to switch from Democrat to Republican in Florida, nonparty to Republican than vice-versa. That's been an important component of it, but I do think...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gathered about 100 top supporters and donors over the weekend at South Florida’s Hard Rock Hotel and Casino to say “thank you” — and to foreshadow what might be next. DeSantis supporters see those moves, along with the weekend event at the Hard Rock, as clear signs the Florida governor is once again eyeing a White House bid. The main event Saturday evening featured DeSantis speaking with Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., He needs to repair his image nationally,” said one of the attendees. “I don’t know anyone is going to be like...

Ron DeSantis isn’t committing to running for President again in 2028. At least not publicly. The Governor told Fox News Channel viewers that he didn’t “have any plans for the future” when asked about a future run by Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures. The comments are interesting in light of those being his first public remarks since a reported conclave with donors and supporters in South Florida,

By KIMBERLY LEONARD 04/06/2024 09:38 PM EDT HOLLYWOOD, Florida — Ron DeSantis is making nice with his most loyal donors and, at least over the weekend, ignored Donald Trump. During a retreat in South Florida for the governor’s donors that featured golf, cigars and spa time, and little mention of the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee, DeSantis thanked and wooed the people who most avidly supported his presidential run. Part of the weekend was also to brainstorm how he could keep Florida front and center in the conservative movement with more than 2 and a half years left as governor. Robert...

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has had a busy month, signing 38 bills into law in March. Ranging from giant wine bottles to homeless encampment bans to ending squatting in Florida, all the signed laws represent a multitude of issues residents have been bringing to light.

Miami Beach, FL (NewsNation) — The relationship between former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis remains fractured following a contentious 2024 presidential battle. At a press conference Wednesday morning, DeSantis sounded unlikely to campaign for Trump. When asked by NewsNation’s Libbey Dean if he would join the presumptive GOP nominee on the trail, DeSantis was hesitant to commit. The governor’s reasoning: Florida isn’t “competitive” enough for him to stump for Trump. “This is not going to be a state that’s competitive in November,” DeSantis said at a news conference. “So, I don’t anticipate there being much campaign here...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has rejected a proposal to raise the governor’s salary with a three percent increase in the 2025 budget, asserting that an increase is “appropriate for others given the persistent inflation” but not for the governor’s salary. “I’ve spoken to legislative leaders and asked that they remove a proposed 3% increase for the Governor’s salary in next year’s budget,” DeSantis said in a statement posted to X. “While this increase is appropriate for others given the persistent inflation in the US economy, it is best to leave the Governor’s salary as is,” he said, garnering praise...

Florida governor Ron DeSantis has signed a bill approving the release of records relating to the first probe into Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking operation. The Republican traveled to Palm Beach to sign the bill, HB 117, which will open access to the 2006 grand jury that resulted in a criminal charge against the disgraced financier that many called questionably lenient. 'There were a lot of questions about what happened where you had a sweetheart deal... This is long overdue but again, we feel that we can't just turn a blind eye,' said DeSantis, who was accompanied by two of Epstein's...

Governor Ron DeSantis is set to hold a news conference The conference is set to begin at 11 a.m., but no further information on what will be discussed has been released.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis may be positioning himself to jump back into the 2024 Republican presidential primary should former President Donald Trump — the presumptive nominee — be forced out of the race. Over the past several weeks, DeSantis has held several events nationwide supporting an Article V constitutional convention to institute term limits. Additionally, the Florida Governor has renewed his attacks on Trump and continued to blame conservative media for the collapse of his presidential primary bid in January.The DeSantis presidential campaign has continued to hold delegate calls and huddles with political allies, even after the primary bid was...

TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Gov. Ron DeSantis sure seems to be acting like a candidate again — and he’s picking new fights with the most powerful Republican in America.During a lengthy call last week with more than 200 pledged delegates to his former presidential campaign, DeSantis shot down any speculation that he’d be Donald Trump’s vice president, warned the former president against using “identity politics” in choosing a running mate and blamed Trump’s campaign team for relentlessly attacking him before the governor dropped out of the presidential race in January.DeSantis held the call the same week he traveled to Indiana and...

Christina Pushaw, will be serving as a senior analyst for the governor earning an annual salary of $155,000. Bryan Griffin, is back serving as the governor’s communications director earning $160,000, records show. And last month, James Uthmeier, who worked as the campaign manager for DeSantis’ failed bid for president, returned to his role of chief of staff. His annual salary is roughly $196,000.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday he would not consider being Donald Trump’s running mate one day after the former president confirmed the former 2024 rival was on his “short list” — with DeSantis revealing that he was looking at other prospects, including another White House bid in four years. “People were mentioning me [as a potential vice president]. I am not doing that,” DeSantis told Republicans his presidential campaign had recruited to be delegates to this summer’s nominating convention during a thank-you call, audio of which was shared exclusively with The Post. The 45-year-old also went in-depth about who...

DeSantis began 2023 as the best positioned Republican candidate to challenge Trump for the party's presidential nomination, according to polling tracked by 538. But he begins 2024 as another name on the growing list of rivals who failed to shake the former president's popularity among the GOP --- DeSantis' early actions since leaving the race have already sparked speculation that the governor, who is only 45, could make another White House run in the future. A source close to him said that he has privately expressed interest in running again as early as 2028 and has brought it up as...

His vetoes, his foreign trips, his upcoming debate with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis: It all adds up to something like a shadow presidential campaign by California Gov. Gavin Newsom. It’s hard to predict how Mr. Newsom might pull it off, at least during this cycle—he has remained a steadfast supporter of incumbent President Joe Biden, and as the filing deadlines for multiple Democratic primaries have passed, he hasn’t flinched. He could be gunning for 2028, two years after state term limits will force him out of the governor’s mansion. Or, if events line up just right, he could make his...

A weird thing happened right after the Nov. 3 election: nothing. The nation was braced for chaos. Liberal groups had vowed to take to the streets, planning hundreds of protests across the country. Right-wing militias were girding for battle. In a poll before Election Day, 75% of Americans voiced concern about violence. Instead, an eerie quiet descended. As President Trump refused to concede, the response was not mass action but crickets. When media organizations called the race for Joe Biden on Nov. 7, jubilation broke out instead, as people thronged cities across the U.S. to celebrate the democratic process that...

Presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has admitted that he and his wife Jill, a.k.a Casey, decided he would make a run at the White House all the way back in November 2020, in little-noticed remarks to Fox News highlighted by The National Pulse editor-in-chief Raheem Kassam.Asked when he and his wife decided they would betray Donald Trump and throw their proverbial hat in the ring, Governor DeSantis gave a surprising response:“So, I would say starting in November of 2020, the number one thing I would get on the street is 2024. Our view is, are you the one to beat Biden...

Ron DeSantis always makes a big deal about signing all of the Florida laws that stem from new legislation the people behind his administration submit from his office. However, when he signed the new law that sealed all his travel records [Previously Discussed Here], he did so quietly. .... Snip.... Ron DeSantis ’24 is 100%, guaranteed to be an absolute construct of the billionaires, multinationals, and hedge fund managers who must stop Donald Trump and the America First platform. Look backward at the professional Republican outcomes in 2018, 2020 and 2022 to see the background of what this is all...