Two of my favorites among Donald Trump’s rivals for the 2024 nomination spoke back-to-back in favor of the former (and future) president at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday night. Former South Carolina governor and UN ambassador Nikki Haley was up first, speaking of uniting Republicans behind Trump even if they don’t always agree with him.
Haley was a tough act to follow, but Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) rose to the occasion. Leading with “let’s send Joe Biden back to his basement, and let’s send Donald Trump back to the White House,” he gave a fiery speech that didn’t spare the Biden administration or the left in general.
DeSantis delivered zingers that met with applause:
Life was more affordable when Donald Trump was president. Our border was safer under the Trump administration, and our country was respected when Donald Trump was our commander-in-chief.
Joe Biden has failed this nation. As a veteran, I was appalled when 13 of our service members were killed in Afghanistan due to Joe Biden's dereliction of duty. As a citizen, as a husband, and as a father, I am alarmed that the current president of the United States lacks the capability to discharge the duties of his office.
Our enemies do not confine their designs to between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. We need a commander-in-chief who can lead 24 hours a day and seven days a week. America cannot afford four more years of a “Weekend at Bernie's” presidency.
And DeSantis was just getting started. Calling the president a “figurehead” and “a tool for imposing a leftist agenda on the American people,” the governor turned to leftists in general:
They support open borders, allowing millions and millions of illegal aliens to pour into our country and to burden our communities. But just don't send any to Martha's Vineyard. Then they get really upset.
They have unleashed progressive prosecutors across our nation who care more about coddling criminals than about protecting their own communities. They use the unelected bureaucracy to impose their will on us without our consent. And they weaponize political power to target their political opponents like they've done to our own nominee.They want to ban gas automobiles, eliminate Second Amendment rights, and impose gender ideology on everyone from our infantrymen to kindergarteners. They stand for DEI, which really means “division, exclusion, and indoctrination,” and it is wrong.
They mandated that you show proof of a COVID vaccine to go to a restaurant, but they oppose requiring proof of citizenship to cast the vote. They can’t even define what a woman is.
DeSantis contrasted the current administration with Donald Trump, who “stands in their way and he stands up for America. Donald Trump has been demonized. He's been sued. He's been prosecuted, and he nearly lost his life. We cannot let him down, and we cannot let America down.”
The governor spoke about how it’s worthwhile to fight for Republican principles even when it’s an uphill battle. He cited his own state as an example, highlighting how in today’s Florida, “The Democratic Party lies in ruins. The left is in retreat. Freedom reigns supreme. The woke mind virus is dead, and Florida is a solid Republican state.” DeSantis said that electing Trump gives us a chance to do the same thing nationwide.
Related: RNC Night 2: House Leaders Make the Case for Another Trump Term
DeSantis evoked history in his stirring conclusion:
We have a responsibility to preserve what George Washington called the sacred fire of liberty. This was a fire that burned in Independence Hall in 1776, when 56 men pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to establish this nation. It's a fire that burned at a cemetery in Gettysburg, Pa., when our nation's first Republican president pledged this nation to a new birth of freedom. It's a fire that burned at the foot of the Berlin Wall in 1987, when our nation's 40th president stood in front of that wall and said, “Mr. Gorbachev tear down this wall.”
This is not a responsibility we should fear. It's a responsibility we should welcome. After all, if not us, who? And if not now, when? Let's make the 45th president of the United States the 47th president of the United States. Let's elect Republicans up and down the ballot. And let's heed the call of our party's nominee to fight, fight, fight for these United States. Thank you. God bless you. Let's win in November.
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