Free Republic

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis claimed his early push for the White House was a burgeoning success in a fundraising call with donors Monday, telling backers that his conservative message is drawing “converts” from across the country. The Republican contender urged supporters to sustain their financial support as he barnstorms through crucial early-voting states, drawing bigger crowds than anticipated in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has come under fire after making changes to his personal Twitter account in preparation for a reported presidential bid announcement this week. Previously known on Twitter as @GovRonDeSantisFL, the governor’s new handle now reads @GovRonDeSantis. The decision to drop the “FL” from his handle has been interpreted by some as an act of distancing himself from the state that propelled him into the national spotlight. Critics argue that by removing the “FL,” DeSantis is effectively signaling that he views Florida as a means to an end and has little intention of continuing his service as governor...

Ron DeSantis grappled with how not to "piss off" then-President Donald Trump's voters during 2018 debate preparation sessions in his first campaign for Florida governor, according to videos obtained by ABC News. In the videos, the then-congressman can be seen talking through how to answer a mock question on whether there are any issues on which he disagrees with Trump. The question was posed to him by Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who participated in the mock sessions. "Obviously there is, I mean, I voted contrary to him in the Congress," DeSantis said in the video. He added, "I have to...

A well-timed counterpunch against the duplicitous backstabbing by Ron DeSantis that took place in August of 2022 is delivered by former New York Congressman and former New York Governor candidate Lee Zeldin today. Zeldin endorses Donald Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination:[SOURCE]If you have followed the deep weeds of GOP politics, you already knew this was likely.At a key moment in the New York governor race, in late August of 2022, shortly after the Mar-a-Lago raid, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was scheduled to be keynote speaker at a New York City Zeldin dinner/fundraiser. Before the fundraiser, DeSantis went to pick...

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has chosen a finance director for his prospective presidential campaign, two sources close to DeSantis said on Thursday. Lauren Lofstrom, who served as finance director for Texas Senator Ted Cruz during his 2016 presidential campaign, is joining DeSantis' political operation and has begun meeting with the governor's allies to discuss fundraising strategies, said the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. Others who have joined DeSantis' political operation include Jason Johnson, who served as Cruz's chief strategist in 2016, the sources said.

Republican 2024 presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy told Daily Caller editor Grayson Quay that he initially supported Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, but now believes that he is not the candidate to lead the Republican Party in the upcoming presidential election. DeSantis is expected to be former President Donald Trump’s main rival in the primary election as repeated polling has shown the Florida governor and former president to be neck-and-neck in a potential race. Ramaswamy formally entered the race on Feb. 21, and exclusively told Quay that he no longer believes DeSantis is the new leader of the Republican Party. Watch:

In the race for Florida’s next Governor, Republican nominee Ron DeSantis took his campaign into the Everglades.

In an extensive interview with journalist Bari Weiss on her podcast, "Honestly," former Trump administration Attorney General William Barr said that "if I had to bet" who'd be elected president in 2024, he'd say Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The concept of America First embodies the American people’s aspirational goals to see policies that primarily benefit them, especially in an era when it feels as if they are being overshadowed by special-interest groups, corporate lobbyists and foreign agendas. It’s undoubtedly linked with President Donald Trump, but the question remains for the 2024 election: Can this idea thrive with someone else’s leadership?

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala,) is absolutely opposed to any new restrictions on guns — even regarding military-style assault weapons — because people need them to “take back” our government, he explained on Fox News Sunday. Such action should only be undertaken in the event America becomes “dictatorial,” Brooks told host Sandra Smith. “Oh, no, that’s wrong. That is absolutely false,” said Brooks, before Smith corrected him yet again. Brooks claims the whole idea of the Second Amendment was to arm citizens to take over the country if need be — and that not having enough guns will spark the appetite...

Former President Trump is reportedly working with former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) on drafting a new MAGA policy agenda, modeled after Gingrich’s 1994 “Contract with America,” ahead of the 2022 midterms, Politico reports. Sources familiar with the matter told the publication that Trump had been meeting with Gingrich along with sitting down with his former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) at Mar-a-Lago in the past few weeks as they focus on winning back the House and Senate in 2022.

As Covid-19 cases continue to jump during the fall surge, Dr. Anthony Fauci says there's little chance of normalcy on the horizon. The US will have a vaccine in the next few months, but there's a chance a "substantial proportion of the people" won't be vaccinated until the second or third quarter of 2021, Fauci said. The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases reiterated caution on the nation's outlook. "I think it will be easily by the end of 2021, and perhaps even into the next year, before we start having some semblances of normality," Fauci...

In the comments section of a Townhall article, someone brought up the term "thought experiment" and suggested that you could have an interesting and engaging time with Biden supporters by engaging in such an experiment. Here is an inspired way to apply the concept: If your liberal friends are still speaking to you, and it's getting more difficult all the time, ask them why they support Joe Biden and to do so without making reference in any way to Donald Trump. In other words, without mentioning the president's name or referring to him directly or indirectly, ask your friends what...

On Saturday’s “MSNBC Live,” Rep. Francis Rooney (R-FL) stated that “some freedoms are going to have to be given up” to ensure unstable people don’t get weapons and that he will agree to act on gun control, but “not necessarily for normal people.” He also expressed uncertainty as to whether people should be allowed to own AR-15s and argued for making schools harder targets. Rooney said, “Well, we are one of the most open societies in the world. I think that each one of these heinous crimes raises the bar and makes us — compels that we, as a nation,...

At 1:45am on July 28th 2017, Republican Senator John McCain together with Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins voted against the ObamaCare repeal in the Senate; ensuring the failing ObamaCare health care takeover and economic drag continues. This should not come as a surprise. McCain has a legacy of voting against the American people to the benefit of his corrupt legislative corporate handlers. Yet, the vote was still blood-boiling in ramification and consequence. Additionally, it should be noted for an accurate record that Nevada Republican Senator Dean Heller delayed his own roll call vote, skipped his name when called, until he...

President Donald Trump signed a record number of executive orders in his first week in office. Many of those orders have the President’s political opponents bracing for battle. “We have our work cut out for us,” said Congressman Lloyd Doggett. The Austin Democrat says he will work to stop policies that could hurt Texans. “I see my role as being part of the loyal opposition,” Doggett added.

John Dingell turns 90 today, meaning he's spent barely over one-third of his life not representing Southeast Michigan in Congress. With 59 years of service, Dingell remains the longest-serving congressman in the history of the United States. His wife, Debbie, succeeded him as the representative from Michigan's 12th Congressional District when he retired in 2014. Dingell is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and in recent years has developed a cult following on Twitter -- not exactly a hotbed of octogenarian politicians. In honor of Dingell's birthday, greetings are pouring in from around the country. Among the more...

As an avid supporter of term limits, I have addressed this subject in this column many times over the years and have received some valid and sensible opposition to my opinion. The basic counter argument is that the bi-yearly or quad-yearly elections serve as term limits, as the voters have a chance to replace any candidate, but if they are doing a good job for their state, congressional district or whatever, why should they be removed from office just because they have served a prescribed amount of terms? Well, one rebuttal is fairly obvious and the other more obscure. We...

The Texan senator’s gold standard policy is a terrible idea with a long history. But if you run a business, are employed by one, care about the stability of the financial system, or would prefer that the U.S. economy not be needlessly thrown into disarray — a group that seems like a pretty broad coalition of voters — Cruz’s economic policy is not OK. He told CNBC on Friday that he wants to push America back to the gold standard. This is a hare-brained policy that no other country uses and not a single surveyed economist thinks is a good...

Ted Cruz mocked Donald Trump for "a lot of whining" and "cursing" over losing delegates to the Texas senator on the campaign trail. Cruz told a California crowd he won "11 elections" in the past three weeks and said Trump has been beside himself ever since. The senator picked up scores of delegates in Colorado this weekend, which prompted Trump to deliver an indignant response on Twitter questioning the nominating process of the Centennial State. "Now in response, Donald has been yelling and screaming, a lot of whining, I'm sure some cursing, and some late-night fever-tweeting. All the characteristics, I...