MANCHESTER, NH – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis spoke to a largely supportive audience at Manchester Community College on Thursday, finishing off a multi-stop tour across the state that began earlier in the day.
His theme, of sticking to principles without concern of perception or attacks, repeated throughout the evening, beginning with New Hampshire House Majority Leader Jason Osborne (R-Auburn) paraphrasing DeSantis during his introduction for the presidential hopeful.
“The people will support a leader who displays courage under fire and resolutely stands firm for the truth, because it is so rare of elected officials. When he demonstrates to people that he is willing to fight for them under difficult circumstances, the people will have their leader’s back,” said Osborne. “Governor DeSantis has demonstrated this truth in Florida and will do so again as President of the United States.”
Continuing this theme, DeSantis stated that proclivity for action even if it draws criticism was key to his large mid-term victory in Florida. He cited his stances opposing left-wing ideologies in schools, sending the Florida National Guard to the Mexican border, opposition to COVID-19 lockdowns, appointing conservative judges, opposition to the Disney Corporation and other points supporting this approach toward unyielding conservatism.
“Florida shows that these things can be done,” he said.
DeSantis’ wife Casey echoed these sentiments as she took the stage halfway through DeSantis’ speech.
“Through all the attacks from the left and the corporate media, he never changes, he never cowers, he never backs down and he never takes the path of least resistance,” she said.
DeSantis attacked President Joe Biden several times, but did not directly mention his primary adversary for the Republican Presidential Nomination, former President Donald Trump. However, he did make indirect attacks against Trump, stating that Republicans had botched campaigns in recent years that would have given them a stronger position in the U.S. Senate. Unlike Trump, he also stated that he would help get other Republicans elected and strong appointed allies that share his vision that the problems of the country could not be solved immediately upon his election, contrasting with Trump’s view that he alone could address the country’s problems.
One topic DeSantis didn’t mention was Florida’s six-week abortion ban, one of the most restrictive in the country. Earlier in the week, New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley attacked him on this, along with other civil rights issues.
“As a lifelong Granite Stater, I can tell you that our freedoms are what we cherish most in New Hampshire. Be it the freedom for a woman to choose what happens to her own body, the freedom to vote or the freedom to live life as our authentic selves, our freedoms are at the core of the Granite State,” said Buckley. “It tells you a lot about just how out of step Ron DeSantis is with the people of our state, that he is showing up to campaign here on a record of ripping away those very same freedoms.”