Ron DeSantis Talks Education, Book Banning, Immigration — And The 'Swamp' — In Twitter Space With Elon Musk

It was the social media first that almost didn't happen — or at least with multiple technical delays.

After submitting his presidential candidacy paperwork earlier in the day, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis joined Twitter owner Elon Musk on a Twitter Spaces Wednesday night.

And despite the technical delays, the Space did manage to allow more than 200,000; 300,000, and possibly 500,000 listeners (recollections, mathematics and screenshots may vary) to hear DeSantis, Musk and pundits with a conservative bent such as David Sacks, Dana Loesch, Chris Rufo, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) talk about the issues that concern them.

And thank Musk for bringing back free speech via his purchase of Twitter.

The questions allowed DeSantis to focus on various talking points:

1. COVID-19 and health bureaucracy — how he would reform public health agencies such as the CDC, NIH and FDA. "All of those agencies ... failed during COVID," said DeSantis, adding he would overhaul how they function.

2. Government agencies having too much power. The need to "re-Constitutionalize" government agencies, such as public health. He cited two main powers that as president he could use: the power of the purse and ensuring Congressional legislation, not delegating to agencies.

3. NAACP Travel Advisory to Florida — and Disney: "Claiming Florida is dangerous is a total farce," said DeSantis, noting that no Florida city is in the top 25 cities in the U.S. for crime. DeSantis said that it was a political stunt by the NAACP which with other "left-wing groups" was colluding with "legacy media to create a narrative."

DeSantis said the state's tourism had record figures and there are more black-owned businesses in Florida than in another state.

DeSantis also seems like he is in it for the long haul with Disney: "The arrangement [between Florida and Disney] has outlived its usefulness."

4. Book banning: DeSantis denied that there is a book banning going on in Florida. He said that the state was "insuring we can make curation choices that are consistent with our standards ... reflects the values of Florida voters."

5. Critical race theory, history and DEI: DeSantis said eliminating critical race theory for grades K-12 was the right thing to do. The state is still teaching history, "We [the state] are required to teach about racial discrimination in American history ... Florida schools teach about slavery, segregation."

DeSantis just signed a bill banning DEI in Florida public colleges and universities. "DEI is out of step with the majority of Americans," he said.

See Also: 2024 Election Betting Odds Prior To Ron DeSantis Announcing Candidacy

6. Immigration: "I would reverse what Biden is doing. I would shut the southern border down," he said. DeSantis also blamed the Mexican drug cartels for the number of people trying to cross the border.

7. ESG: DeSantis said Wall Street and banks are colluding, using ESG standards in the financial sector in a way that they "couldn't do at the ballot box," noting that there are no ESG companies in the state's pension fund.

8. Cryptocurrency, CBDC: DeSantis supports cryptocurrency but feels the U.S. government wants to control it, and regulate it out of business so people can't operate in that space. "I want to protect Bitcoin," said DeSantis, with Musk adding "Dogecoin" in the background.

DeSantis does not support a CBDC as he believes it puts a "huge imposition on people's financial freedoms and privacy" and fears that a central authority could impose standards, such as ESG, on people's everyday lives.

9. Getting the Job Done: One question, which seemed to throw shade at the former president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, asked how he would actually complete his agenda because others have "tweeted and talked about it and didn't follow through ... cleaning the swamp," most likely referencing Washington D.C.

DeSantis responded that even his worst critics would say he follows through, citing how he had two bridges that were destroyed in a hurricane rebuilt quicker than predicted.

"If you nominate me, and you can see the clock January 20, 2025, at high noon ... I will be taking the oath of office of the 47th president … I will get the job done," promised DeSantis.

DeSantis concluded by saying he would do a Twitter Space again, with Musk saying that other candidates are welcome to participate.

Read Next: DeSantis Unmasked: 5 Things You May Not Know About The Man Who 'Needs A Personality Transplant'

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