Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took the stage during the second Republican presidential debate to reaffirm his dedication to clone state actions to a national level to fix crime issues across the country.
“In Florida, we back the blue,” he said at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.
“We support the men and women of law enforcement. They are keeping us safe. We have a 50-year low in the crime rate.
“And yes, when I had two progressive prosecutors that weren’t following the law in Florida, I removed them from their posts, and the people of Florida are safer as a result of it. As president, I will use the Justice Department to bring civil rights cases against all of those left-wing Soros-funded prosecutors. We’re not going to let them get away with it anymore.”
The governor previously removed two state prosecutors in the Sunshine State for neglecting their duty: Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren and Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell.
“State Attorneys have a duty to prosecute crimes as defined in Florida law, not to pick and choose which laws to enforce, based on his personal agenda,” said Mr. DeSantis when he announced the suspension of Mr. Warren.
“It is my duty to hold Florida’s elected officials to the highest standards for the people of Florida. I have the utmost trust that Judge Susan Lopez will lead the office through this transition and faithfully uphold the rule of law.”
Mr. DeSantis called out the crime levels in California cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco, specifically pointing to three people he spoke with while visiting Southern California this week who told him that they had been mugged on the street.
“That would have never happened 10 or 20 years ago,” he said.
“The crime in the cities is one of the strongest signs of the decaying of America,“ he said. ”We can’t be successful as a country if people aren’t even safe.”
If we want to reverse America’s decline, he said, we need to choose law and order over rioting and disorder.
The governor has previously promised, if elected president, to use his executive power to “defang the administrative state,” by not only eliminating two progressive state attorneys, but to remove the head of the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and other agencies. He also said he would shuffle leadership two or three layers deep.
“I know where to come in, how to deal with the FBI, how to deal with the DOJ, how to grant clemency for Donald Trump and these other people,” he said during a recent interview with conservative commentator Glenn Beck.
“I will be in a position to do that very, very effectively. So if you want to end the weaponization, if you want to defang the administrative state ... I’m the best vehicle to be able to get that done.”
He has also promised to replicate other aspects of his Florida administration on a national level, such as the Hope Florida program, which creates cooperation with private charities, churches, and businesses to provide assistance to citizens in need.