All about Ron DeSantis, the Musk Republican who challenges Trump
Here are the positions and ideas on economic and foreign policy of Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida who wants to beat Trump and become the Republican candidate in the US presidential elections
With the announcement made via Twitter of his candidacy for the Republican nomination , the governor of Florida Ron DeSantis launches his challenge to Donald Trump which will, as everyone expects, focus on the same Trumpist themes that made the fortune of the former President.
But who is Ron DeSantis? Let's take a look at the positions and ideas of the leader who swept the governor's seat last November, attracting the attention of the Republican establishment which sees in him a sort of Trump without Trump. therefore, a more drinkable alternative to a cumbersome but still popular man like The Donald.
DeSantis Trumpism
As revealed by the same decision to entrust himself to the care of Elon Musk to launch himself into the empyrean of GOP candidates, DeSantis – writes CNN – has chosen to present himself to his potential voters as the "true anti-establishment rebel", who, exactly like Trump intends to scrap "the conventions of traditional presidential politics".
In practice, observes Cnn again, taking the field in the Twitter arena, the governor "draws from Trump's unconventional behavior manual" placing himself in the wake of the 45th US president.
What can be expected from DeSantis' electoral campaign is therefore a score in which Manzonian cries against the liberals and their hated "wake" culture will alternate with appeals to the deep heart of America.
If he were to really become President, therefore, sparks should be expected from a politician who, as ISPI points out in its dossier on DeSantis' candidacy , "is considered even more conservative than Donald Trump: a Catholic fundamentalist, anti-abortionist, in favor of the total liberalization of the and gun ownership, he is a champion of the crusade against Critical Race Theory and gender identity”.
DeSantis' Culture Wars
In his still short career as governor of Florida, DeSantis stood out for a series of pitched battles against the totems of the new progressivism, i.e. against the latest incarnation of liberal culture – the so-called woke – which relies on the noisy campaigns for and equality of ethnicities and genders.
DeSantis' culture wars began with a measure that targets schools, colleges and universities and, in this case, the lessons taught on a sensitive issue such as the question of race. The governor's decree prohibits, for example, any insinuation relating to the alleged responsibility of the white world for a racism considered systemic and structural.
Further provisions concerned the field of African American studies, a bastion of the left, which since January in Florida can no longer freely give voice to what DeSantis has branded a "political agenda".
Another target of DeSantis's Trumpian fury were the famous DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) programs hinged on the courses taught in the twelve universities and twenty-eight state colleges.
Considered the epitome of woke culture since the days of the great protest mobilizations over the murder of George Floyd, the DEI curriculum has undergone a severe revision plan aimed at expunging any reference to "theories according to which systemic racism, sexism and privilege are built into the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political and economic inequalities.”
But the flagship law of Florida's new course is what critics have renamed the "Don't Say Gay bill", which prohibits schools from holding educational activities on gender and sexual orientation issues, extending its application to older students who are required by law to provide teaching materials “that are age appropriate”.
It is precisely a measure that was fiercely contested by the pro LGPTQ+ movement and which was promptly challenged in the courts to trigger the legal war between the governor and Disney, Florida's economic engine, which sided in favor of those sensitivities.
The Crusade Against the (Chinese) Communists
DeSantis' strong anti-Chinese rhetoric has given rise to three decrees born with the aim of "counteracting the malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party in the state of Florida".
As explained on the governor's official website , the three measures aim to eradicate Beijing's influence in the state's society and economy in order to "make Florida the leading state in protecting American interests from foreign threats".
The new legislation, the site explains, has three objectives: "to limit Chinese purchases of agricultural land and properties located near military bases and critical infrastructure, to protect digital data from Chinese spies and to eradicate Chinese influence from the educational system of Florida".
The latest act in this saga dates back to May 9, when the governor signed a decree banning TikTok from all state schools and public servers.
DeSantis' Trump statements on Ukraine
Also on the issue of the war in Ukraine, the governor is aligned with those of Trump, both skeptical if not against the line of unlimited support for Kiev tenaciously guaranteed by the Biden Administration. This can be seen from some statements made to the media that caused quite a stir.
DeSantis drew criticism when, responding to a questionnaire on Ukraine sent to him by controversial former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson, he called the conflict "a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia" that does not fall within the "vital national interests" of the US.
The interview granted to the English-language Japanese newspaper Nikkei Asia also made a lot of noise in which she called for a "ceasefire" between Kiev and Moscow, comparing the situation in Ukraine to the battle of Verdun, the longest of the First World War in which killed 700,000 soldiers.
Trumpian tunes on the power of Big tech
On the same wavelength as the former President is DeSantis' thought on the so-called Gafam, the technology companies like Google and Facebook that personalities like Trump consider an integral part of a great liberal conspiracy against the Republicans.
In an interview with The American Conservative magazine, the former Tea Party animator said that those companies "are exercising (over American society) a greater power than Standard Oil or any other trust of the early 20th century. century", deeming an antitrust intervention "appropriate".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/ron-desantis-chi-e/ on Thu, 25 May 2023 06:57:33 +0000.