Florida governor Ron Desantis taps into spirit of Reagan by declaring: you ain’t seen nothing yet

Ron de Santis borrowed a line from Ronald Reagan for his State of the State address, amid intense speculation that he’ll run for president.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis answers questions from the media in the Florida Cabinet following his State of the State address. Picture: AFP.

Ron DeSantis borrowed a line from President Reagan that “you ain’t seen nothing yet” during his annual Florida governor’s speech, watched closely for signs that he will run for president.

DeSantis, 44, set out support for policies including the concealed carrying of firearms in Florida without a special permit or training, harsher penalties for drug dealers and a ban on surgical gender reassignment for children.

The governor is the subject of intense speculation that he is preparing to announce a campaign for the 2024 Republican nomination once the Florida legislative session ends on May 5.

DeSantis did nothing to dispel expectation that he will take on Donald Trump and other Republicans for a shot at the White House. He is seen as Trump’s main rival after being re-elected as governor by a landslide 20 percentage points.

“November’s election results represent a vindication of our joint efforts over these past four years - the results also invest in us the responsibility to lead and provide us the opportunity to shoot for the stars,” he said.

DeSantis mentioned a dozen guests watching from the chamber balcony at Florida’s House of Representative who illustrated his policies, including a female police officer who moved from Maryland, tempted by the state’s dollars 5,000 signing-on bonus, a woman who had a double mastectomy as a 16-year-old and campaigns against sex reassignment surgery for youngsters and a hospital doctor who refused to take the Covid-19 vaccine but whose job was saved by DeSantis’s refusal to enact the same strict pandemic protocols as other states.

He described Florida as “on the front lines in the battle for freedom”, much as he does in his new book, The Courage to Be Free, with its subtitle Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival. DeSantis became a national figure by resisting lockdowns and masking and spoke yesterday (Tuesday) about his battle against “the biomedical security state”.

He concluded: “Don’t worry about the chattering class. Ignore all the background noise. Keep the compass set to true north. We will stand strong. We will hold the line. We won’t back down and I can promise you this. You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

That closing line was used by Reagan during his 1984 re-election campaign, which he won by a landslide.

DeSantis has suggested life sentences for dealers who push fentanyl by making it look like sweets. Trump has gone further by suggesting the death penalty for dealers. DeSantis said in his speech: “We need to increase penalties for fentanyl dealers, especially those who target our children. And to do that we must treat them like the murderers that they are.”

DeSantis said Florida was “proud to be pro-life” and is expected to sign a bill proposed by a state representative to lower the legal abortion threshold from fifteen weeks to six.

The 60-day legislative session will be seen as a shop window for policies that will boost DeSantis’s profile among primary voters, with Florida Republicans proposing “culture wars” measures to curb how schools can use gender pronouns and to criminalise some drag shows.

Lauren Book, the Democratic leader in the state senate, said: “The number one cause of death amongst children in our country is gun violence, but again, they’re concerned about who goes to what kind of drag show.”

Trump continued to attack DeSantis on his Truth Social site, claiming: “Polls show me doing substantially better against Hopeless Joe Biden than DeSanctus would do.” In fact the polling varies with a Quinnipiac poll last month showing DeSantis narrowly beating Biden but the president narrowly beating Trump.

DeSantis takes his book promotional tour to Iowa on Friday with two events, his first appearance in the state that kicks off the Republican selection process next year. Trump is making a speech in Iowa on Monday.

The White House criticised the Florida abortion bill as “virtually eliminating a woman’s right to make healthcare decisions about her own body”.

Frat boy slim has an eye on the top job

Ron DeSantis is showing the telltale sign of all American politicians preparing for a big campaign: a trimmer figure.

The Florida governor, 44, a former athlete, was mocked on Twitter last year by Donald Trump followers as “Yale Harvard fat boy” - a play on “frat boy” - but is now noticably slimmer, adding to talk he will take a tilt at the White House.

The Times