This morning.
Florida Governor Ron
DeSantis is in New York
where he spoke
at a rally there
supporting law enforcement
We support strong policies
to keep our communities safe
and we back the blue
and we support their mission.
And we back it up with money
and all kinds of stuff
to be able to do it.
The reason why you have
what you have in some of these
other jurisdictions
is because they're putting woke ideology
ahead of your safety
as New Yorkers or as people from Illinois
or wherever.
You have this type of policy taking place
where U.S.
police NYPD do
say that they need better
gun safety measures
as well to fight crime.
The government has not announced
that he is running for president.
He seemed to be courting,
however, New York voters this morning.
His visit comes
as some conservatives are concerned
about how his fantasies
using his government powder in Florida
in his fight against what
he calls their wokeness.
And Steve King joins us now.
Steve, what specifically are
Republican leaders worried about
Jim, there are a couple of
factors at play here.
First is you have conservative donors and
and organizations that generally believe
that government
shouldn't be
in the business of businesses
and that some of the steps taken
by Governor
Santos have inflicted his conservative
ideology on state institutions.
And businesses
and sometimes even
punishing businesses
that run afoul of his point of view.
We've seen, obviously,
that has played out
publicly in his fight
with Disney over the so-called
don't say gay bill,
but we've also seen him
punish businesses for their vaccination
and mask policies.
We've seen him put restrictions
on how businesses can train
their employees around issues of racism.
We've seen him now
say he wants to go after banks
that lend in ways
that he doesn't agree with.
So there's that part of it.
But there's also Republicans,
including his supporters,
who are worried
that he might be flying
a little bit too close to the sun
with his war on wokeness.
You know, this most recent spat
with the College Board over this
AP African-American studies class.
I mean,
he is now talking about potentially
pulling AP classes
out of Florida entirely,
finding alternatives to the S.A.T..
These are things
that parents around the country use
to help their students
get into good colleges.
To save a bit of money
on their higher education.
And there are concerns
that they don't know
how this is going to play out nationally
when this stuff
when he starts campaigning
in a national campaign.
And what we're seeing is
Republican candidates
starting to seize on this a bit,
especially those
who are starting
to want to turn the page
from these Trump era politics.
Are we seeing Governor
Sununu of New Hampshire,
former Governor
Hogan of Maryland,
Governor Hutchinson of Arkansas,
they have all raised concern
with how the stances has been so heavy
handed with businesses.
Now, Jim,
Governor Sanchez remains
very popular in Florida.
He's growing popularity
across the country.
He has quite a bit of support
among those who want to see him challenge
President Donald Trump.
But these are the questions
he is going to face
from Republican voters
and from his potential
competitors
if he does jump into that race.
Steve King, thanks so much.
Joining us now,
Molly Ball,
a national political correspondent
for Time magazine, Somali.
The conventional wisdom,
which I generally hate,
had been
to some degree
that DeSantis was
the kind of anti-Trump candidate,
someone who could get the MAGA voters
to to back him.
But not be Trump in effect.
You would hear that
from some Republicans,
but to hear some conservatives
now concerned
that DeSantis, his positions in Florida,
might be too out there,
what are we seeing within the Republican
Party right now?
Well, I think
a lot
of it is
that without an official candidacy
by DeSantis,
a lot of this is just filling a vacuum
with sort of speculation and rumor.
Look,
a lot of the things
that Republican voters
really like about Governor
DeSantis are the similarities with Trump,
chiefly his willingness
to use
the force of the state, state coercion,
in some cases
to punish businesses
and to enforce the sort of
culture war initiatives
that he has his eye on.
And so that is,
I think, viewed as a strength
by many of the Sanders's fans.
And it's the sort of similarity
with Trump he's been able to.
And I think this is
also a sign
of how the Republican Party
has sort of realigned itself
ideologically around the Trump
axis since Trump first
became a candidate.
Now, nearly a decade ago,
these concerns
about the size and scope of government
and the sort of
ideological libertarianism
that used to underlie
a lot of Republican doctrine
is really not as much on people's minds
as it used to be.
And so a lot of the candidates
who are
more overtly against the sort of legacy
that Trump has left in the party are,
of course, going to object to that.
But I think that is one of the things
that for many Republican base
voters is a strength for DeSantis.
Yeah, interesting.
You note
it is eight years
since that ride down the escalator, four
for Trump.
I want to play something
that Nikki Haley,
of course, has already
announced her candidacy for 20, 24
said during her
travels through Iowa this week
regarding Social Security and Medicare.
Have a listen.
I want to get your reaction
There is
an issue of entitlements,
and I think that we do have to address
entitlements.
However, I don't think we take away
from anyone
that we've promised things to.
I think we focus on the new generation
coming into the system
because they already know
they're not going
to get anything from it.
And we need to get in front of that.
And that means you go
and you look at the new ones coming in
and you keep your promises to those
that have already been in the system.
I listen to that.
That sounds a lot to me
like saying, okay,
you're already receiving Medicare,
Social Security, you won't be touched.
But the promise to those of us
who are paying right now
may not be capped.
Right.
I mean, that sounds to me like
entitlements are on the table.
And this is a candidate
for for the Republican
nomination in 20, 24
Well, and again, I feel like
I'm having flashbacks to 2015. Right.
I mean this is exactly sort of the
the Paul Ryan
line of the old Republican Party,
which was very determined
to enact some sort of entitlement reform.
And it is still the case
that a lot of fiscal
conservatives, party donors,
sort of Old-School, Republican types
who believe
that the spending on these programs
is unsustainable
and there does have to be some reform.
And it has always been
the case
that these sort of plans
to reform entitlements for the most part
have targeted future beneficiaries,
not current beneficiaries
who are already receiving
or who are potentially about to receive
these benefits.
But it is obviously something that Trump
has made a litmus test for the party
and has made
a dividing line in the party,
and that we have seen
become a source of tension
in the party between, for example,
Mitch McConnell and Rick Scott,
because these entitlement programs
are incredibly, incredibly popular.
You know, 80
90% of voters
do not want to see any changes
to Social Security
They're just viewed as a guarantee
and something that
that many Americans
feel like they've earned.
So, you know,
that was a big part
of Trump's success in 2016 and
and I think it's something that again
the party has sort of realigned itself
around to the point where it's become
it's always been
sort of a third rail
and it's become something
that is seen as sort of untouchable.
So this is going to be,
I think, a live debate in the party
in the primaries this year. Yeah.
They're not describing it as untouchable.
And by the way,
we're all paying into it now right
just watch your paycheck
every two weeks
as those contributions
still go in, whatever the discussions.
Molly Ball, thanks so much.