Gov. DeSantis Is ‘Not Ready’ for the White House, Some Republicans Say

The Lincoln Project blasted the Florida governor for his response to a question about “the day every American can never forget.”

Guess who’s not ready for prime time? The Lincoln Project, a political action committee of moderate Republicans, believes Ron DeSantis is not ready for the White House after the Florida governor appeared to stumble on a question about his reaction to 9/11, the suicide terrorist attacks carried out by the militant Islamist extremist network al-Qaeda against the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. 

“I think I’d just graduated college and I didn’t have a care in the world and all of a sudden, Boom. You know, it happened,” DeSantis said on Piers Morgan Uncensored.

Following DeSantis’ appearance on the Fox Nation show, the Lincoln Project released an ad which said: “[Gov. Ron DeSantis] wants to be the next Republican president, yet he doesn’t remember the day every American can never forget. He’s not ready for primetime.”

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Although the Florida governor has not yet announced his presidential aspirations, it is widely believed will challenge former president Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Questioning DeSantis’ Honesty

“Every American knows where they were on 9/11, and though he refuses to say it, we know Ron DeSantis was teaching at the elite Darlington school in Georgia on that day,” said Rick Wilson, a founder of the Lincoln Project. “Why he refused to answer has left America questioning his honesty.”

Wilson went on to say that during the Morgan interview, DeSantis managed to look worse than former president Donald Trump, who has announced his intention to run for the presidency. Wilson added that “Ron should stick to fighting with cartoon mice, because he’s not ready for a banking crisis or a war in Europe.”

Attempts Are Backfiring

But this is not the only cloud on the governor’s presidential horizon. DeSantis has made an attack on “woke” a cornerstone of his political agenda, even coining the phrase “Florida is where ‘woke’ goes to die.” But as catchy as he wants to make it, recent polls suggest that his attempts are backfiring. 

In fact, a new USA TODAY/Ipsos Poll conducted from March 3 to March 5, 2023, found that the majority of Americans see “woke” in a positive light. For 78% of Democrats and more than one third of Republicans (37%), the term means “to be informed, educated on and aware of social injustices.” 

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Additionally, a Morning Consult poll found majorities of voters opposed lawmakers punishing companies that speak up in favor of abortion rights and other issues, as DeSantis did with the Disney Corporation when it failed to support his “Don’t Say Gay” law that bans classroom discussion of issues relating to sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.

Critics say these “culture wars” are meant to distract Floridians from the real issues impacting their lives, like the rising cost of living that has many wondering if they can still afford to live in the place they call home. 

“They choose to focus on these culture wars, instead of ensuring that there is affordable workforce housing, or making sure we address the insurance crisis,” Democratic Minority Leader Lauren Book told Floricua.