Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
DeSantis fires up crowd
Republican gubernatorial nominee Ron DeSantis sought to fire up South Florida voters on Sunday with a diatribe against his Democratic opponent, talking much less about his own agenda at a campaign rally than what voters have to fear from opponent Andrew Gillum.
DeSantis began his early afternoon speech in Coral Springs with a condemnation of the shooter who massacred 11 people the day before at a Pittsburgh synagogue. “If you are targeting people based on their religion in this country, you deserve swift justice. And that animal deserves the death penalty,” DeSantis said.
His demand for the death penalty — DeSantis later told reporters it should be carried out swiftly — drew cheers from the audience of several hundred people gathered in the parking lot of a strip mall that is home to the popular
Wings Plus restaurant.
Just over two minutes into his speech, DeSantis turned his attention to Gillum — and stayed focused on the Democrat for most of the 27 minutes he addressed the crowd. He repeatedly labeled Gillum a liar, and the crowd frequently booed at mentions of the Democrat’s name.
At two points, after DeSantis delivered strings of criticisms of Gillum, people in the crowd began chanting “lock him up” — reminiscent of the “lock her up” chants that punctuated President Donald Trump’s 2016 rallies during his campaign against Democrat Hillary Clinton.
“The people of Florida never had a clearer choice to make,” DeSantis said. “I’m relieved to say that of the two of us, I’m the only one who can credibly say I’m not under investigation by the FBI.”
Time and time again, DeSantis returned to questions about Gillum’s ethics, especially his acceptance of a ticket to the Broadway show “Hamilton” that came from an FBI undercover agent looking into possible corruption in Tallahassee government. Gillum has also been questioned about a trip to a Costa Rican villa that may have been paid for by a lobbyist-pal of Gillum’s.
Gillum has said he hasn’t done anything improper and isn’t the target of the FBI investigation.
“What possible reason would an undercover agent have for giving him a $1,000 ticket and underwriting a $5,000 dinner if he wasn’t investigating Andrew. I mean give me a break .... He’s the center of a public corruption investigation, and you know why? Because the city of Tallahassee is corrupt. We know that.”
Returning to the subject, DeSantis wondered, “How is Andrew gonna be able to deliver for the people of Florida vis a vis working with the Trump administration? He’s running around saying to impeach Trump. Now I don’t know what for — unless Donald Trump received a $1,000 ticket from an FBI agent. Did Donald Trump receive a $1,000 excursion to Costa Rica from a lobbyist, and then give him a contract? I don’t think so. Maybe they should be trying to impeach Andrew as mayor of Tallahassee.”
Often using only Gillum’s first name, DeSantis attacked him on multiple fronts.
He asserted that Gillum presides over “the most crime ridden city in Florida.” (Gillum has said crime is coming down in his city.)
He said Gillum doesn’t support law enforcement. “They deserve our respect. They deserve our support. They do not deserve to be attacked like they are by people like Andrew Gillum.” (DeSantis has endorsements from police unions. Sheriffs are split with some supporting DeSantis and some supporting Gillum.)
DeSantis also repeated a rallying cry used by Trump and Republicans across the country during the midterm election season, accusing Gillum of favoring open borders. During a four-minute question-andanswer session with reporters, DeSantis asserted at the Democrat that would welcome a caravan of migrants to Florida.
“If Andrew is governor, we will have sanctuary cities in Florida. He’ll make Florida a sanctuary state, like California. If I’m governor, we ain’t going to have sanctuary cities. Florida will not be a sanctuary state. We’re just not going to let it happen.”
DeSantis and his running mate, state Rep. Jeanette Núñez, pushed Republicans to get themselves, and others to the polls. Though Broward is overwhelmingly Democratic, it is home to one of the largest populations of Republicans in the state. “If we do our work if we turn out the independents and the Republicans, we could win the election right here,” DeSantis said.
If he wins, DeSantis said he’d be able to alter the judiciary in Florida “for a generation” through the three vacancies the next governor will fill on the Florida Supreme Court. He promise to appoint state Supreme Court justices in the mold of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
The emcee for the event was Andrew Pollack, who has become a prominent political activist after his daughter, Meadow, was killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre in February.
Pollack said DeSantis would provide “strong leadership” for Florida.
Sunday’s rally was less than a 10-minute drive from the Parkland school where 17 people were killed and 17 injured. Though guns are one of the biggest policy differences between the candiates — DeSantis is a strong supporter of Second Amendment rights and Gillum favors more gun controls — the Republican nominee didn’t focus on the issue Sunday.
Pollack said gun control is a distraction from what he sees as the real cause of the massacre that caused the death of his daughter and others at the school: incompetence at the Broward Sheriff ’s Office and permissive policies in the Broward School District.
During his speech, Pollack criticized Sheriff Scott Israel and School Superintendent Robert Runcie, generating boos.
As he warmed up the crowd, Pollack explained “why I despise Democrats.”
He was especially critical of House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, DCalif., who recently visited Coral Springs and “starts preaching about universal background checks” for firearms purchasers, Pollack said more background checks wouldn’t work because criminals aren’t arrested in the first place so they wouldn’t be prevented from buying guns.
“She should stay in California. We love our state,” Pollack said.
He expressed disdain for Pelosi’s home city, San Francisco, which he said he has visited — but probably never would again. Because of the large homeless population there, Pollack said “couldn’t walk down the street without stepping in human defecation.”
Gillum was on a bus tour Sunday with stops in Green Cove Springs, St. Augustine, Kissimmee and Orlando. His wife, R. Jai Gillum, campaigned in Miami Gardens with U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., a likely 2020 Democratic presidential candidate.
Also on Sunday, Democrats had some “Souls to the Polls” events at which they encouraged black voters to head from church to nearby early voting sites. One was held on Sistrunk Boulevard, the main street of the historically black section of northwest Fort Lauderdale. The biggest Souls to the Polls events traditionally are held next weekend, two days before the election.