When his presidential campaign was in full swing, Ron DeSantis and the state of Florida were on the forefront of banning books in schools, which picked up considerably following the passage of the state’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” law. However, now that the governor has returned to Florida after washing out of the Republican primary, he’d like if folks could maybe cool it on the whole book banning thing. “Everyone take a chill pill” appears to be DeSantis’ new message.
During a news conference on Thursday, DeSantis showcased a surprising reversal as he acknowledged that the process for banning books has gotten way out of hand. Ironically, DeSantis echoed concerns that were expressed at the outset of Florida’s aggressive push towards challenging books and curriculums. These issues were raised from the start, but ignored as the governor launched his presidential run.
“Likewise, members of the community, although we like people wanting to be involved in what’s going on, to just show up and object to every single book under the sun, that is not an appropriate situation here,” DeSantis said via CBS News. “And we have seen that occasionally.”
“If you have a kid in school, OK. But if you’re somebody who doesn’t have a kid in schools and you’re going to object to 100 books – no, I don’t think that that’s appropriate,” DeSantis continued before announcing a plan to limit objections to books in school. “We just want to make sure we’re not trying to incentivize frivolous objections or any type of games being played.”
NEW: DeSantis acts SHOCKED that his vague and punitive censorship laws have resulted in exactly the type of chaos and excessive book banning in Florida public schools that we all predicted would happen.
The GOP knows they went too far. Mr. Never Back Down, is again backing down. pic.twitter.com/2HS51xWDnS
— Carlos Guillermo Smith (@CarlosGSmith) February 15, 2024
Meanwhile, state Republicans are reportedly pushing new legislation that would almost double DeSantis’ salary as governor. According to Newsweek, DeSantis currently makes $141,400 per year. That number would jump to $251,414.
Maybe word got out that the Governor and First Lady DeSantis are big into private jets now. Who knows?