Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis touted his state’s continued population growth as a sign of people fleeing states that are governed by “leftists,” like California.
While speaking before his audience in California, DeSantis repeatedly compared the west coast state to Florida. DeSantis said until recently, many people moved to California, but “now you see the state hemorrhaging population.”
“We’ve seen people move from the West Coast, not just California, but Oregon and Washington State, in numbers like we’ve never seen,” DeSantis said. “This is a result of better governance in States like Florida, it is a result of poor governance in these left-wing states—that’s why people are moving.”
“I knew you guys got a lot of problems out here but your Governor is very concerned about what we’re doing in Florida so I figured I had to come by,” DeSantis said during his speech on Sunday.
Newswom took a crack at DeSantis as his Republican Florida rival arrived in California last week.
“Welcome to the real freedom state,” Newsom told DeSantis, in a statement he shared with the Los Angeles Times.
Possible 2024 Plans
DeSantis spoke at the Ronald Reagan Library as part of a national media tour to promote his new book “The Courage To Be Free.” The media tour comes as three candidates have already announced their plans to run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and as DeSantis has faced questions about his own 2024 plans.Ahead of his speech, a presenter said “with his new book it’s clear [DeSantis is] asking all Americans to simply judge him by his works” and said “‘The Courage To Be Free’ is Florida’s blueprint for America’s Revival, and Governor Ron DeSantis is the leader who drafted, and successfully implemented, that blueprint in the Sunshine State.”
“Judging by the size of this enthusiastic crowd here on a Sunday afternoon and by how quickly this event sold out I'd say most of you have already become familiar with Governor DeSantis’s Florida blueprint and you like what you see,” the presenter continued.
Trump was the first Republican candidate to announce his 2024 bid, followed by former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and biotechnology entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.