So are we at risk in the South to immigrate or emigrate socialism?

So Florida is more protected against this than any state in the country.

And the reason is, since I've been governor...

No state has more thoroughly defeated the far left than we have in the free state of Florida.

We beat Fauci during COVID.

We beat BLM during the riots.

We beat the school unions.

So it's a little bit of you want them to have all the tools they need, but are they violating our liberties?

Why do you think that you found the principles on which the US was founded more attractive, and particularly what makes them more attractive and useful to people who are genuinely of a working-class derivation?

Well, look, there, there's a, there's a l- a limited role for government to play, and there's a limited role for, for ruling, these ruling elites.

And I think when you look at things like communism, you're right.

The, the chains are even thicker for the working class.

But man, the, the entrenched elite class, they do very, very well, uh, and, and they live very high on the hog.

A- and you saw that.

Uh, I think when we understand what role government has played in holding people back, a more limited government provides more opportunity.

What do you make of the effort by the Democrat Party, the Democratic socialists of America, or communists, and others who are using our immigration sh- system to try and fundamentally change our country, and what can a governor do about it?

Well, I think a couple things.

I think, one, the left realizes that they can't win in America unless they import people, uh, from around the world who will agree with their agenda.

And part of that is having an open border, having illegal immigration, and then amnestying them and having them vote.

And actually, in some of the blue states, they're letting the foreigners vote, uh, which is why you need to pass the Save America Act.

We've done that in Florida incidentally.

So this is part of a larger political project.

What is it that you saw early on about Fauci and his policies that caused you to say, "Wait a minute, you're on the wrong track"?

Are there opportunities or, uh, or possibilities for states such as Florida to charge under state law someone like Dr. Fauci, who otherwise seems like he may escape all consequences of a criminal nature on a federal level? Could states act? If not states, what pathways, if any, might you see to holding him accountable for what I think are quite clearly many lies that he has told over the last several years, among others?

Well, a couple things.

One is, if you've been given a pardon, you typically then don't go invoke the Fifth Amendment.

Uh, you actually can be compelled to testify if you don't have an underlying legal risk from the conduct at issue.

So the fact that he took the Fifth Amendment either means he's subject to contempt of Congress, which they could potentially pursue, or he's acknowledging that Biden's, uh, pardon didn't necessarily cover all the potential lines of inquiry.

So that's more of a federal question there.

Now, the question on the states is this: You would have to have two things.

What's next for you?

Are there opportunities or, uh, or possibilities for states such as Florida to charge under state law someone like Dr. Fauci, who otherwise seems like he may escape all consequences of a criminal nature on a federal level? Could states act? If not states, what pathways, if any, might you see to holding him accountable for what I think are quite clearly many lies that he has told over the last several years, among others?

Well, a couple things.

One is, if you've been given a pardon, you typically then don't go invoke the Fifth Amendment.

Uh, you actually can be compelled to testify if you don't have an underlying legal risk from the conduct at issue.

So the fact that he took the Fifth Amendment either means he's subject to contempt of Congress, which they could potentially pursue, or- He's acknowledging that Biden's, uh, pardon didn't necessarily cover all the potential lines of inquiry.

So that's more of a federal question there.

Now, the question on the states is this: you would have to have two things.

What's next for you?

Are there opportunities or, uh, or possibilities for states such as Florida to charge under state law someone like Dr. Fauci, who otherwise seems like he may escape all consequences of a criminal nature on a federal level? Could states act? If not states, what pathways, if any, might you see to holding him accountable for what I think are quite clearly many lies that he has told over the last several years, among others?

Well, a couple things.

One is if you've been given a pardon, you typically then don't go invoke the Fifth Amendment.

Uh, you actually can be compelled to testify if you don't have an underlying legal risk from the conduct at issue.

So the fact that he took the Fifth Amendment either means he's subject to contempt of Congress, which they could potentially pursue, or he's acknowledging that Biden's, uh, pardon didn't necessarily cover all the potential lines of inquiry.

So that's more of a federal question there.

Now, the question on the states is this: You would have to have two things.

What's next for you?

Yeah

... uh, really infamous with their behavior during this.

Because if you tried to put up a post on Facebook in March of 2020 saying lockdowns do not work and are unscientific, that post would get censored and taken down.

I had Bhattacharya and some of these guys talking about there's no scientific basis to force masks on schoolchildren, and Google and YouTube censored it at the time.

So those companies were basically serving as an arm of the government by trying to squelch dissent, but they also got wealthier [laughs] during COVID.

I mean, let's just be clear, the Magnificent Seven did better during COVID.

It was the small businesses, the mom and pops that, particularly in the lockdown states, who really took it in the chin.

[laughs]

Hope you enjoy.

What do you think you learned from your mom? Well, I think if you look at where my parents are from, so my mom's from Youngstown, Ohio, and my dad's from Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, which is Western Pennsylvania.

Those are steel mill town.

So this is like blue collar, working class, salt of the earth.

And so like my mom was a nurse and I would go, because I didn't have my own car, I would drive her to the hospital.

six in the morning, I'd go to school, I'd do that, I'd come pick out, but she's working these 12 hour shifts often and oftentimes a lot longer than that and doing very well.

But the one thing I always remembered is people in the community, when they knew if they had been in the hospital and she attended to them, they would always tell me how great she was to do that.

And despite the liberal environment, you felt you were actually more conservative by the time you left.

Please welcome Governor Ron DeSantis.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, it's great to be with you.

Sean Hannity has taken a big risk with his career.

He's got this very successful show, and he's turning the reins over to us for today.

So I'll be in the captain's chair.

I'm proud to be Sean's governor.

I've known him for a long time.

I'm gonna spend it in Miami." So, you know, there, uh, again, there's another wave as these states go more radical, especially from California it seems, because if they pass that referendum, that wealth tax, um, that, that's retroactive to January 1 of this year

yearYeah.

So l- look, just, just show you how Florida runs.

So the last four years, we have reduced our budget every single year.

So four years ago, w- uh, three years ago was lower than four years ago, two years was lower than three years ago.

The budget I just signed, that just went into effect, is lower than all of those, and we've had population growth and inflation, and yet we're still reducing our budget.

In fact, Florida's total debt for its history, uh, we've retired 52% of it just in my tenure as governor, and that's the more aggressive that it's ever happened.

Um, do you have future plans, political plans at all? You thinking about anything politically?

Oh, so

good.

It's like almost like, I'm like, guys, I'm still here.

I still got, you know, I got a runway.

I'm going to run through the day.

And I kind of feel like Churchill, there was a Churchill vignette.

He was past prime minister.

Are you ever worried that post Ron DeSantis, Florida will be a victim of its own success and that people will get affected? you know, they'll get fat on all the goodness and that will end up bringing back a lot of the ideas that have been purged from this place.

Hey, um, what, what are your thoughts on what came out of the special session with regard to property tax? Um, just, well, give me your reaction to what's gonna be on the ballot.

Well, one, I mean, you know, we put out a proposal.

This is not my proposal.

We had the calculator.

People were excited about that.

And really was a transformational vision, uh, the idea that, you know, as a Florida resident, you know, you are, have this homestead exemption.

That should be 100%.

[laughs]

That's why he was against term limits.

Well, and if you also think, people say, "Well, isn't the term limit just the election?" And honestly, on the surface it's a good point.

Incumbents make the system benefit incumbents.

They have campaign finance that's written to help incumbents, congressional franking.

There's things that don't make it an easy, e- e- even playing field.

Most of the congressional districts in this country are going to elect either one party or the other, so then the whole thing is the party primary.

So term limits would force turnover, and it would honestly give more people an opportunity to serve.

Have you decided whether you're gonna run for president again?

And quality of life is very important.

Well, yeah, I mean, look, I mean, just think about education.

So we were the first state in the country a few years ago to not allow cell phones in class in K-12.

And when I did that, MSNBC called me a fascist for not having cell phones.

Now all the data is in.

Even blue states are following suit because, you know.

You can't have kids buried in their phones the whole time.

Do you have any common sense Democrats left in Florida? Yeah, you

And quality of life is very important because in New York, we're suffering.

Well, yeah, I mean, look, I mean, just think about education.

So we were the first state in the country a few years ago to not allow cell phones in class in K-12.

And when I did that, MSNBC called me a fascist for not having cell phones.

Now all the data is in.

Even blue states are following suit because, you know.

You can't have kids buried in their phones the whole time.

Why, I mean, do you have any common sense Democrats left in Florida? I mean, I could not understand from up here in the north where I'm at that they were objecting to President Trump shooting down the boats coming in with drugs that are going to kill our kids.

What's going on in Florida, and how much do you think you're going to grow in the next, I guess, year or two?

Well, it's good to be with you.

I'll just give you, so just in the last few weeks, we've done a number of things.

One, we passed the new redistricting map.

You remember Hakeem Jeffries, who you know very well from New York City.

threatened Florida he said you know eff around and find out all this stuff we turned around and passed the map two days later and that's done we also just recently signed legislation to provide for the decertification of partisan teachers unions and I look at places like New York and California They're run by the teachers union, and it's a liberal interest group.

And in Florida, we're doing the opposite on that.

And education, by the way, education is $46 billion of the $127 billion.

What's going on in Florida and, and how much do you think you're gonna grow in the next, I guess, year or two?

Well, it's good to be with you.

I'll just give you...

So just in the last few weeks, we've done a number of things.

One, uh, we passed the new redistricting map.

You remember Hakeem Jeffries, who you know very well from New York City, threatened Florida.

He said, uh, you know, "F around and find out," all this stuff.

And education, by the way, education is 46 billion of the 127.

Tell me about-- Tell the country about Florida, how you came about and how you did what you did.

Well, I think we're a little bit different than some of those other cases because I've been fighting on this redistricting for years now.

So in twenty twenty-two, I vetoed the legislature's map, and, uh, we ended up getting the map that we had there because there was racial gerrymandering.

And I was able to get one of the, the racially gerrymandered districts dismantled.

Uh, the legislature at the time, some of the leaders like, "Oh, it's, it's not gonna hold up in court." And of course, here we are four years later, and it's been validated and approved.

We had another racially gerrymandered district in that same map that they said, "Well, the Voting Rights Act requires this, and so if you don't do it, our map's gonna get struck down." So it's kind of a compromise.

The, the jurisprudence hadn't necessarily evolved, and as the jurisprudence evolved, I saw Calais was coming.

And the, um, and the Commerce Department, the Census Bureau stole two seats or three seats from you too, didn't they?

Your own people.

We, we had a Republican administration at the time.

Fauci was part of that task force from Trump 45, and, you know, he would come down and attack me personally for doing... 'Cause, I mean, the schools was interesting 'cause they were on spring break, and they were like, "All right, let's just give it two weeks," you know, the 15 days.

And so I start agitating.

I'm like, "These kids need to get back." And my commissioner of education's like, uh, oh my gosh, people are going crazy.

And he's like, "Well, all they have is the test and all this, and you've already suspended that for the year, so whatever." But, I mean, even doing, when we did the June order to say all schools must be open, oh, you would have thought that we were executing puppies on live TV.

The outcry, the negative, and it just was what it was.

He does

Uh, where are, where are things right now on the homesteaded properties a- as it pertains to property tax?

So the soonest it can be done is the November general election when Florida voters have to vote to make this change in our constitution by 60%.

And so we've said that all along.

Uh, we're working with, uh, folks in the legislature about getting language approved that will go on.

I'm not prepared to do it yet because I don't think it's opportune to do it yet, but we will do it.

And so it will be done, uh, before the summer's out in time to be on the ballot.

And the ultimate goal, of course, is your homesteaded property would be exempt from property tax.

Would you like to run against him? Would you like for the nation to have an opportunity to hear both those arguments?

Uh, where are, where are things right now on the homesteaded properties a- as it pertains to property tax?

So the soonest it can be done is the November general election when Florida voters have to vote to make this change in our constitution by 60%.

And so we've said that all along.

Uh, we're working with, uh, folks in the legislature about getting language approved that will go on.

I'm not prepared to do it yet because I don't think it's opportune to do it yet, but we will do it.

And so it will be done, uh, before the summer's out in time to be on the ballot.

And the ultimate goal, of course, is your homesteaded property would be exempt from property tax.

Would you like to run against him? Would you like for the nation to have an opportunity to hear both those arguments?

Uh, where are, where are things right now on the homesteaded properties as it pertains to property tax?

So the soonest it can be done is the November general election when Florida voters have to vote to make this change in our constitution by 60%.

And so we've said that all along.

Uh, we're working with, uh, folks in the legislature about getting language approved that will go on.

I'm not prepared to do it yet, because I don't think it's opportune to do it yet, but we will do it.

And so it will be done, uh, before the summer's out, in time to be on the ballot.

And the ultimate goal, of course, is your homesteaded property would be exempt from property taxes.

Would you like to run against him? Would you like for the nation to have an opportunity to hear both those arguments?

Thanks for joining us.

Yeah, look, we've got, um, a lot going on in Florida, and you mentioned Ken Griffin, who had moved Citadel, you know, a few years ago.

Obviously, that has a big economic impact for a state.

I mean, these are high-paying jobs.

The footprint has, uh, really expanded.

But one thing people don't talk about, and I can say certainly for Ken, he's donated, in terms of philanthropic efforts, I mean, hundreds of millions, maybe even billions of dollars already in Florida.

A- and obviously, he probably would've been doing that in Illinois, uh, had he not done that.

What, what, what do you see now as the biggest challenge of this success, if you will?

So in Florida, what is our policy? If they're, if they're gonna take over just, it's not about throwing rocks let's say, which obviously they'd be arrested, you know, over an overpass or something like that, but if they're gonna take over a street without a permit or something like that, are these people immediately going to be arrested? Like, what, what is actually our policy the second they step over that line, as blurry as they want it to be?

be?Well, the Hamas demonstrations, when that was in vogue, they tried to do that in the City of Miami, and the Miami PD, uh, got them off the street in 13 minutes.

They tried to do it in Central Florida on a state road and our State Highway Patrol-

Yeah.

...

they were able to dispatch them in 11 minutes.

And so yes, there is zero tolerance.

You have no right to commandeer streets.

Can you walk through why, how, and, and whether this is something you think we can actually get done?

So one, if you look at what's pinching people, uh, property taxes is one of the biggest thing that's pinching people, particularly young families.

Why? Because property valuations have gone up.

And so you'll have somebody that's had a house for 30 years, they're homesteaded.

You know, you have a young family bought a house three years ago, their valuation is way higher, so they're paying a much higher amount in property taxes.

You have to sell a house, maybe you get transferred from Miami to Tampa, you buy high tax basis, and you're there.

So we do have homestead protection.

Yeah.