Walking out beneath a banner that read "Make America Safe Once Again," Florida Governor Ron DeSantis continued the GOP's attacks on LGBTQ Americans into Tuesday night at day two of the Republican National Convention, despite the party's presidential nominee, Donald Trump, vow to unite the nation.
Parading his far-right social agenda, DeSantis, who ended his 2024 presidential bid in January, angrily attacked President Joe Biden and American principles of equality.
"Let's be honest here. Biden is just a figurehead. He's a tool for imposing a leftist agenda on the American people. They support open borders, allowing millions and millions of illegal aliens to pour into our country and divert in our communities. But just don't send any to Martha's Vineyard then they get really upset," the two-term Florida GOP governor mockingly declared, reminding Republicans that he spent state tax dollars to pick up 48 Venezuelan asylum seekers, including children, in Texas, and transport them to the tiny island town in Massachusetts, where they discovered, one said, they had been "tricked."
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"They have unleashed progressive prosecutors across our nation who care more about coddling criminals than about protecting their own communities," DeSantis continued at the convention where Donald Trump, a convicted felon, was officially chosen as the party's presidential nominee just 24 hours earlier.
"They use the unelected bureaucracy to impose their will on us without our consent," DeSantis added, although it was unclear if he was referring to the nation's justice system. "And they weaponize political power to target their political opponents like they've done to our own nominee."
"They want to ban gas automobiles, eliminate Second Amendment rights and impose gender ideology on everyone from our infantry men to kindergarteners. They stand for DEI, which really means 'division, exclusion and indoctrination' and it is wrong."
DEI stands for diversity, equity, and inclusion.
"They mandated that you show proof of a COVID vaccine to go to a restaurant, but they oppose requiring proof of citizenship to cast the vote," he claimed before adding, "They can't even define what a woman is."
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DeSantis originally had not been scheduled to speak at the convention, despite having endorsed Donald Trump when he ended his presidential campaign. On Tuesday it was announced both DeSantis, and Trump's other top rival for the nomination, his former Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, would both speak to the delegates.
As DeSantis praised Trump, the nominee was in the audience, standing next to his son Eric, his new vice presidential running mate, U.S. Senator JD Vance, and U.S. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.
CNBC reported Tuesday the second day of the Republican National Convention saw Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz "bend the knee."
"The primary campaign is a distant memory now," Florida Politics noted.
Watch DeSantis' speech below or at this link.
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