'Thank you, Mom.' Florida congressman Donalds talks school choice, inflation at 2024 RNC

When Florida Rep,. Byron Donalds, R-Naples, took the stage at the Fiserv Forum to address the delegates of the 2024 Republican National Convention, he had one person in mind.

"Mom, I just want to take this opportunity to say thank you," he said, as he talked about how his mother, an educator, moved him to a private school when "Democrat politicians wanted to trap me in a failing school."

"Thank you, mom," he said. "Words cannot describe how deeply grateful I am to be your son."

The Naples congressman told the crowd Monday night in Milwaukee about his financially struggling childhood and how his mother and grandmother worked to give him a choice in education.

"Joe Biden and Kamala Harris sent their kids to high-priced private schools. But since they are in the pocket of the far left, teachers unions, they trap poor kids like me, in failing schools with no way out. They say they're pro-choice, but not if you want a choice over what your kids are taught.

"Donald Trump believes every parent deserves a choice, and every child deserves a chance," Donalds said.

He also called out the Biden administration for high inflation rates. "I have nearly two decades of experience as a financial professional," Donalds said. "And the evidence is in, go to any grocery store, buy eggs, buy beef, buy milk, even housing prices. have skyrocketed.

"All Americans deserve a shot at the American dream. But under Joe Biden's debilitating economic policies, for many Americans far too many. For far too many of them. That dream has slipped away," Donalds said, to thunderous applause.

While the prices of food and common household goods shot up during the pandemic, largely due to supply chain problems, price increases have stabilized over the past year, according to a Consumer Price Index (CPI) report from March 2024. Inflation has fallen significantly in the past two years, although it's still high and the rate has slowed recently,

Donalds has been seen by many as a rising star in the GOP and his inclusion at the RNC speaks volumes, as did the rumors that he was on Trump's potential VP list. But who is Byron Donalds?

Who is U.S. Rep Byron Donalds?

Bryon Lowell Donalds is a Florida House Republican from Naples, first elected to Congress in 2020.

Born in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, the middle of three children raised by a single mother, Donalds, 44, is a graduate of Florida State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and marketing in 2002. He has worked at TIB Bank, CMG Life Services, and Moran Wealth in Naples.

Donalds entered politics as part of the Tea Party movement and ran for the U.S. House of Representatives for Florida's 19th congressional district in 2012. He finished fifth, out of six candidates. In 2016, he ran for the Florida House of Representatives and won, replacing retiring incumbent Francis Rooney to represent Hendry County and east Collier County in the State Capitol.

In 2020, Donalds succeeded in getting elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for the 19th district and was re-elected in 2022.

Donalds’ rough background, hard-core conservatism and ambition got Trump's attention and his endorsement.  Donalds has described himself as a "Trump-supporting, liberty-loving, pro-life, pro-Second Amendment Black man."

While he also has been a staunch DeSantis supporter, Donalds has spoken out against the state's controversial new Black history standards, saying that most of it was good, robust and accurate but "the attempt to feature the personal benefits of slavery is wrong & needs to be adjusted."

A member of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, Donalds has played a large role in key negotiations between moderate and ultraconservative GOP lawmakers. In 2023, when the Freedom Caucus in the House was trying (again) to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Donalds' name was tossed in the ring.

What district does Byron Donalds represent?

Florida's 19th congressional district in Southwest Florida, which encompasses most of Lee and Collier counties and runs from North Fort Myers and Cape Coral in Lee County to Naples and the Ten Thousand Islands in Collier. His district includes Fort Myers, Naples, Bonita Springs, Estero and the barrier islands along both counties.

What has Donalds done for Florida's 19th congressional district?

Donalds has made water quality issues his main focus.

Donalds' first bill, the bipartisan Harmful Algal Bloom Essential Forecasting Act, would have kept scientists on the lookout for potentially dangerous blooms even during government shutdowns.  A year later came the Protecting Communities from Harmful Algal Blooms Act, another bipartisan effort to support research on airborne algae toxins and make it easier for bloom-affected communities to get government help.

He’s also worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is redoing the way it releases often-polluted water from Lake Okeechobee to the Caloosahatchee River, “making sure that Southwest Florida's interests are recognized in the new release schedule,” Donalds said. “We've just scored some major wins for our area, which is going to help with water quality.”

Was Byron Donalds arrested for possession?

When Donalds was 18, after a party at his apartment, he was arrested for possession of marijuana. Two years later, a female acquaintance convinced him he could make a thousand dollars by depositing a bad check. “I was desperate, I was out of money, I didn’t have a job, my rent was overdue," he said.

Donalds has since made restitution to the bank for about seven times the original amount but the state pressed bribery charges in 2000. The charges were later expunged. The 1997 marijuana charge was dismissed as part of a pre-trial diversion program.

“My pastor always says that everybody in life is 15 seconds away from stupid," Donalds said, "but when you’re desperate, you’re three seconds away. And I was desperate.”

Donalds has been open about these arrests during his campaigns and has said they are a tale of sin and atonement that make him uniquely qualified to serve others.

Was Byron Donalds the target of a Florida Ethics Commission complaint?

In 2020 a complaint was filed alleging that Donalds did not disclose his previous arrests on several applications, including one to sell securities and a 2014 application to serve on the board of Florida SouthWestern State College. Donalds maintained that since the bribery charges were expunged that they no longer existed and he had no reason to disclose them.

After reviewing the complaint, the Florida Ethics Commission dismissed it, finding it lacked legal sufficiency.

Contributors: Amy Bennett Williams, The Fort Myers News-Press; Antonio Fins, The Palm Beach Post; Ken Tran, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Byron Donalds is a Republican convention speaker. What to know