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CPAC 2022: Scenes from Day One         ...2 of 5 >
Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022 - Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is up for re-election in 2022, and is seen as a possible 2024 presidential candidate, opened his speech by welcoming attendees to "the freest state in these United States."  DeSantis highlighted his handling of the COVID pandemic.  "Florida has defeated Fauci-ism; freedom has prevailed in the Sunshine State," he said. "People are coming to Florida because they want freedom," he declared.  DeSantis touted many accomplishments:
And as Biden flounders, Florida is leading on issue after issue. We have the largest budget surplus and the lowest per capita tax burden in the entire United States, and no income tax, and we won't have that as long as I'm governor.

When I became governor, Florida had the most liberal state Supreme Court in the country. I've replaced three liberal justices with conservative justices; we now have the most conservative Supreme Court in the country.

Since I became governor, we banned sanctuary cities in the state of Florida.

And we are in the process of getting money from the legislature so that if Biden is dumping illegal aliens into Florida from the southern border, I'm rerouting them to Delaware.

We'll do some in DC and Hollywood as well.

Florida leads the nation in school choice... [transcript]
"We've accomplished more in this state than anyone thought possible," DeSantis concluded. "But I can tell you this, we have only begun to fight." 

After Matt's Sclapp's introduction, a short video played:
MALE ANNOUNCER:  Crime is surging.  Lockdowns have destroyed jobs.  Children forced to live by one set of rules while Democrats live by another.  But one governor is fighting back.

DESANTIS:  We're a free state.

FEMALE ANNOUNCER:  Well said from the governor of Florida.  Governor DeSantis is fighting back.

DESANTIS:  Why don't you do your job? And until you do that I don't want to hear a blip.

MUSIC:  Do you know my name.

DESANTIS:  You are trying to lock people down, I am standing in your way.

MALE ANNOUNCER:  Standing up to Washington.

DESANTIS:  We have a responsiblity to fight back.

MALE ANNOUNCER:  Standing up to liberal media.

DESANTIS:  ...the narrative. I just disabused you of the narrative. And you don't care about the facts.

MALE ANNOUNCER:  Fighting for we the people.

DESANTIS:  I think we should be protecting people's jobs, and that's exactly what we're going to be doing in Florida.

MALE ANNOUNCER:  Governor Ron DeSantis.

DESANTIS:  Welcome to Florida.
Before beginning his speech, DeSantis tossed some campaign baseball caps into the crowd.


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