Ron DeSantis ends 99-county tour talking legacies, promises to clean house

Dec. 8—Supported by the governor of Iowa, the leader of the state's most influential conservative group and the local legislator who serves them both, Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis finished his 99-county tour in Jasper County touting legacies of the Reagan Revolution and promises to clean house in D.C.

After recounting his campaign through Iowa — including mispronouncing the Pella-based Jaarsma Bakery as "jazz-mar" and winning over Hawkeye fans by wishing them luck against Michigan, which ultimately didn't help — the Florida governor eventually moved on to questions from the audience.

Specifically, he was asked about how agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration have conducted themselves these past years, even more so during the pandemic. If elected, DeSantis said he is going to clean house.

"Because I think they're totally bankrupt at this point," DeSantis said Dec. 2 at The Thunderdome in Newton. "You know, the FDA, they're owned lock, stock and barrel by Big Pharma. When they are approving an mRNA COVID shot for 6-month-old babies, just understand there was no data to show that benefits a 6-(month)-old baby."

Yet it was approved on an emergency use basis, and while that is good for Big Pharma and their profits, DeSantis added, it is not the right thing for this country or public health. DeSantis said he is the only candidate running "who will bring a reckoning to these agencies," though other candidates have touted similar ideas.

DeSantis said the COVID-19 pandemic is one of "the three biggest things that have happened" to the United States in the 21st Century, with the other two being the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the wars that followed and the Great Recession. But, to him, COVID-19 had more of an impact on everybody.

"Literally every single person in this country was impacted in some ways by the policies that were advocated by (former Chief Medical Advisor to the President of the United States Anthony) Fauci, by CDC, NIH, FDA," DeSantis said. "The thing is they whiffed so badly on this. They were wrong."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running for president, speaks during a campaign stop Dec. 2 at The Thunderdome in Newton. DeSantis finished his 99-county tour in Jasper County with support from local legislators, the governor of Iowa and the leader of an influential conservative group.

DeSantis suggested his response to the pandemic was the correct response, saying he took "a lot of heat" for his comments. He also touted his hiring of Dr. Joe Ladapo as the state surgeon general of Florida, saying he was one of the few publicly criticize what he described as "Faucism."

"He'd write op-eds in the Wall Street Journal saying you can't close businesses indefinitely, don't impose mask mandates, don't close schools," DeSantis said.

Positions that DeSantis also upheld in Florida. The Republican candidate was also critical of former President Donald Trump's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying he is never willing to admit he made a mistake. DeSantis said the Trump administration handled the pandemic all wrong.

"Knowing what we know now, would you still do the same things you would do? His answer to that question is yes. And to me that is disqualifying, because this can never happen to our country ever again," he said. "...These agencies are not going to want to give up power."

So when it comes to putting people in leadership positions, DeSantis said they have to have a backbone and be willing to take a lot of incoming fire, suggesting he has done just that by assigning Ladapo to the surgeon general of Florida. DeSantis said people like Ladapo is what the country needs, and he will deliver.

Another question centered around former President Ronald Reagan, a favorite among today's conservatives. DeSantis said Reagan was the greatest president since World War II. He not only was successful in terms of his policies, he was successful politically, DeSantis said.

"He took a country that people thought was failing and he reinvigorated the idea of America, he increased patriotism, he gave people hope for a better future," he said. "Then, of course, the No. 1 thing he had to confront was the Cold War and the Soviet Union. By the time he left office the Berlin Wall was on its last legs."

To DeSantis, that "is a legacy you can be proud of."

The high-profile DeSantis supporters are also fantasizing about his potential legacy. Iowa House Rep. Jon Dunwell, who represents Jasper County, has been a fervent endorser of DeSantis, and he lauded the Florida governor's commitment to tour all 99 counties in the state.

"He's finishing that commitment today, and that's exactly what he does: He says something and then he does it," Dunwell said.

A guest uses an iPhone to record a speech by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running for president, during a campaign stop Dec. 2 at The Thunderdome in Newton. DeSantis finished his 99-county tour in Jasper County with support from local legislators, the governor of Iowa and the leader of an influential conservative group.

Bob Vander Plaats, the president and CEO of The Family Leader, a socially conservative organization with strong political influence and whom Dunwell works for as an independent contractor, also praised DeSantis, who he recognized as a future president following his reelection to governor in 2022.

"You do not have to have 'pale pastels,' as Ronald Reagan says, to win. You don't have to sell out to win. You can stand on the things that made this country great to win," he said. "...I'm looking for somebody with strong character. I'm looking for somebody I can trust. I'm looking for somebody who fears God."

Vander Plaats also wants a candidate who isn't a "lame duck on Day One," who can lead for two terms and who can spend more time defending the country instead of defending himself. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds also made an appearance to voice her support for DeSantis, after chucking a T-shirt at a guest's head.

"I think they've had a really good time traveling our state and getting to know Iowans. When you think about it, that kind of commitment to say, 'I'm going to go to all 99 counties,' and then follow through with it, to put in the work...I think that certainly is a great indication of what kind of president he will be," Reynolds said.