'Equivalent of the class clown': Florida state attorney explores the nightmare of a DeSantis presidency

27 May 2023

A new op-ed is exploring the possibility of what a Ron DeSantis presidency would look like if the Florida governor does manage to prevail in 2024.

In a new piece published by The Daily Beast, Florida State Attorney Andrew Warren is sharing his reaction to DeSantis announcing his run for president.

Warren — who was suspended by DeSantis for pushing back against Republican-led efforts to criminalize abortions and target transgender Americans — noted that he knows from "first-hand" experience what it's like to be under the Republican governor's leadership.

"I know first-hand what kind of president the Florida governor would make, having already been on the receiving end of his unconstitutional overreach," Warren wrote.

He also emphasized, "DeSantis’ willingness to violate people’s constitutional rights to grab a headline (or a primetime interview on Fox News) is scary, but the real danger is that he has reduced serious political discourse to the public policy equivalent of the class clown."

According to Warren, DeSantis has emerged as "the newest star of the Republican silver screen, and his recent, fictional portrayal of an actual statesman is worth critiquing at a time when our politics have blurred the line between showmanship and substance."

He continued, "DeSantis has mastered the Art of the Trump. He represents the newest model of the reality TV politician—full of political stunts but devoid of serious policy."

Although the Republican governor portrays himself as a key figure for the "free state of Florida," Warren explained why DeSantis' political portrayal isn't exactly as it may seem.

"That freedom is a mirage, and it conceals the failures lurking beneath the surface while the rights of Floridians are taken away," he explained.

Warren offered an example of DeSantis' actions to support his argument.

"DeSantis’ national profile grew tremendously during the COVID pandemic, but in fact, he cast himself in two different roles in that production: he initially closed down businesses and schools, and he established highway and airport checkpoints to monitor travelers entering Florida," he wrote. "Later, he went to the opposite extreme: lifting those same restrictions and interfering with municipalities as they addressed the pandemic."

He concluded, "The microscope of a presidential campaign will pull back the curtain on who DeSantis is and what he has (and has not) done."

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