Hogan: DeSantis Dictating What Can’t Be Said Is ‘Authoritarian’ Big Government

Former Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD) said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) telling his state “what you can and can’t do” in their education system “sounds like big government and authoritarian.”

In a press conference, DeSantis said, “Go read books like ‘Genderqueer’ and see what’s in there. It’s inappropriate. So we’ve armed parents to object to that and having sure they’re having education and not indoctrination.”

Anchor Chuck Todd said, “My question to you is not whether this is a legitimate issue to be talking about. It’s about whether this is the main issue or not. Do you view this as the main issue for 2024?”

Hogan said, “No, I think it’s an important issue, and I do hear it, and people are concerned about this as I travel across the country because most people just don’t think we should be talking about things like sex to young kids and the parents want to be more involved in the decisions about what their kids are being taught. However, I think some of this rhetoric is, you know, demanding that things be done a certain way or that you can’t say this and can’t say that. You have to be careful.”

Todd said, “Does it feel like you’re going the other way. On the one hand, you have Governor DeSantis claiming I don’t want this, but I will tell you what you can say and what you can’t say.”

Hogan said, “I’m a small government, common sense conservative, and to me it sounds like big government and authoritarian. You have to agree with me and I’ll tell you what you can and can’t do.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN

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