Ron DeSantis
Historical Details
Position on Issues
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Candidate's Twitter Feed, 2023
DeSantis generally opposes any form of gun control. For example, in 2013 he said he opposed a ban on high-capacity magazines because it would turn "law-abiding citizens into felons." In 2023 he wrote on Twitter, "Your 2nd Amendment rights SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED."
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"Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday that if he is elected president he would seek to close four federal agencies as part of an effort to reduce the size of government.
"'We would do Education, we would do Commerce, we'd do Energy, and we would do IRS,' DeSantis said in an interview with Fox News' Martha MacCallum when he was asked whether he favored closing any agencies."
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"If we could term limit members of Congress, you would be able to bring in new blood, you’d be able to bring in new ideas, people would have an incentive to go in and say ‘hey, I may only have three terms in the U.S. House, I wanna get something done,’ instead of kind of doing what they’ve gone into a big morass in terms of how they do business."
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DeSantis is a vocal critic of Critical Race Theory and diversity programs.
For example, in 2021 he said, "Let me be clear: there’s no room in our classrooms for things like critical race theory. Teaching kids to hate their country and to hate each other is not worth one red cent of taxpayer money."
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Candidate's Website, 2023
"DeSantis will be a new sheriff in town when it comes to spending, and he will not be afraid of using his veto pen. Our government programs as they exist today are wrought with waste, fraud, and abuse, and continue to be a major drag on our economy, our budget, and the flourishing of our citizens."
No Response
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2023
Should the federal government combat inflation by capping price increases by large businesses?
No Response
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2023
Do you support mandatory competency tests for federal candidates over age 75?
No Response
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2023
Should the federal government combat inflation by decreasing tariffs on imports from foreign countries?
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Like most U.S. presidential candidates, DeSantis has not said directly whether he would send U.S. military forces to defend Taiwan if China attacks the island. For example, when asked the question directly in March 2023, DeSantis answered, "So I would say that Taiwan is a strong ally of the United States. I think that that's a critical interest. I think it's for us, but also for our key allies like Japan and South Korea. And I think overall, the number one issue that we face internationally is checking the growth and the rise of China. They're much more powerful, I think, than Putin and Russia are, and they really represent the biggest threat that we've seen to our ability to lead since the Soviet Union."
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Candidate's Twitter Feed, 2023
"As President, I will reverse the Biden mandates for electric vehicles and SAVE the American automobile."
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"Republican U.S. presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said on Sunday he would take steps to revoke China's permanent normal trade relations status if he won the 2024 White House race.
"'I favor doing that. I think we probably need Congress but I would take executive action as appropriate to be able to move us in that direction,' DeSantis said in an interview with Fox News on Sunday."
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As governor of Florida, DeSantis signed a bill titled the "Fairness in Women's Sports Act," which bans transgender women athletes from competing in high school girls' and college women's sports teams. At the time he said, "In Florida, girls are going to play girls' sports and boys are going to play boys' sports ... We're going to go based off biology, not ideology."
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In April 2023, DeSantis signed a 6-week abortion ban in Florida. When pressed by Megyn Kelly on whether he would sign a federal abortion ban, he said, "I'll always come down on the side of life, and I'm proud to be pro-life, and I'll be a pro-life president." However, he also said, "I don't have much confidence Congress is going to do anything meaningful in this regard."
No Response
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2023
Should the federal government pass a law guaranteeing the right to choose abortion before fetal viability (generally 24 weeks gestation)?
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Candidate's Website, 2023
"DeSantis will unleash our domestic energy sector, modernize and protect our grid, and advance American energy independence. This will not only increase our economic and national security while reducing inflation, it will also help fuel a manufacturing renaissance that will create jobs, revitalize our communities, and improve our standard of living. We can no longer afford to tie one arm behind our economy's back by prioritizing the left's ideological agenda, crushing regulations, and endless permitting requirements."
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DeSantis supports lowering the age to buy a rifle in Florida, to age eighteen.
"If we're going to say as a society that the age of adulthood is 21 then that would be one thing. But it's not," he said. "I mean, you send people out when they're 18, they can vote when they're 18. And so it's a constitutionally protected freedom, I don't think that there's basis to say that you can just blanket exclude people arbitrarily."
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DeSantis said "I don't think we would do that" when asked if he would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level. He continued, "I think that we have too many people using drugs in this country right now, I think it hurts our workforce readiness, I think it hurts people's ability to prosper in life, and just from my experience growing up, in Tampa Bay area in Florida, the kids in high school who got involved in that, that I went with, you know, all suffered, all their activities, all their grades, and everything like that. So particularly for the youth, I just think we have to be united."
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In a 2023 Fox interview DeSantis said, "Well, I've always said 'promise made, promise kept.' I'm a governor of Florida. Of course, we're going to protect people's Social Security. My grandmother passed away when she was 91. That was her sole source of income. And that's true for millions of seniors. And so that goes without saying." However, he left the door open to changes such as means testing, saying, "Talking about making changes for people in their 30s or 40s so that the program's viable —you know, that's a much different thing and that's something that I think that there's going to need to be discussions on."
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In his 2019 State of the State Address, DeSantis said, "As you are aware, health care is being hotly debated at the national level, so let me say: Any proposal that seeks to eliminate the private health insurance policies of millions of Floridians is unacceptable. Government has no right to take away the policies that Floridians earn through their jobs or purchase on the individual market."
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Candidate's Website, 2023
"As president, Ron DeSantis will build the wall. No excuses."
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Candidate's Twitter Feed, 2023
"Yes, I would send U.S. Special Forces to take out the Mexican drug cartels.
"They are killing tens of thousands of our fellow citizens. How many more are we going to let die?
"As Commander in Chief, I will use all available powers to protect our country and our people."
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In a 2023 DeSantis wrote, "While the U.S. has many vital national interests — securing our borders, addressing the crisis of readiness within our military, achieving energy security and independence, and checking the economic, cultural, and military power of the Chinese Communist Party — becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them."
At the August 23 debate he said that U.S. aid to Ukraine should be contingent on European countries' aid to Ukraine.
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When asked about a pardon in July 2023, DeSantis answered, "I’m going to do what's right for the country. I don't think it would be good for the country to have an almost 80-year-old former president go to prison. It doesn't seem like it would be a good thing."
No Response
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2023
Do you support allowing the federal government to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs covered under Medicare?
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When asked about old plans to privatize Social Security on Fox News, DeSantis answered, "There used to be massive surpluses, and the thought was you…let people divide [it]. Now that’s gone so that is totally not on the table. We gotta make sure that we preserve it for our seniors because they totally depend on it."
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While he has not specifically addressed the cap on income subject to the Social Security tax, Ron DeSantis generally opposes tax increases. In 2023 he also said on Fox News Republicans are "not going to mess with Social Security."
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In a 2023 Fox interview DeSantis said, "Well, I've always said 'promise made, promise kept.' I'm a governor of Florida. Of course, we're going to protect people's Social Security. My grandmother passed away when she was 91. That was her sole source of income. And that's true for millions of seniors. And so that goes without saying." However, he left the door open to changes such as raising the retirement age, saying, "Talking about making changes for people in their 30s or 40s so that the program's viable —you know, that's a much different thing and that's something that I think that there's going to need to be discussions on."
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Candidate's Website, 2023
"DeSantis will work to not only extend the individual tax rates and further simplify the tax code, but also seek permanence."
No Response
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2023
Should the federal government combat inflation by repealing or revising the Jones Act to allow more foreign involvement in shipping between U.S. ports?
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As governor of Florida, DeSantis signed a bill that prohibits tech platforms from suspending or banning political candidates. This law came into conflict with Section 230.
"Some of these massive, massive companies in Silicon Valley are exerting a power over our population that really has no precedent in American history," said DeSantis. "One of their major missions seems to be suppressing ideas."
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Candidate's Website, 2023
"DeSantis will no longer incentivize useless degrees and courses with blanket government loans. To that end, he will make universities, not taxpayers, responsible for the loans their students accrue. He will also seek to allow student loans to be discharged through bankruptcy like any other loan."No Response
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2023
