Ron DeSantis: ‘Florida Is Where Woke Goes to Die’

Florida is “where woke goes to die,” Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said during a speech after his swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday.

Standing against the woke indoctrination of children has been a hallmark of DeSantis’s administration over the past four years, and that is not going away, according to the governor.

“They have harmed education by subordinating the interests of students and parents to partisan interest groups,” DeSantis said.

He continued:

They have imposed medical authoritarianism in the guise of pandemic mandates and restrictions that lack a scientific basis. This bizarre but prevalent ideology that permeates these policy measures purports to act in the name of justice for the marginalized, but it frowns upon American institutions and rejects merit and achievement and advocates identity essentialism.

“We reject this woke ideology. We seek normalcy, not philosophical lunacy. We will not allow reality, facts, and truth to become optional. We will never surrender to the world mob. Florida is where woke goes to die,” the governor said to applause.

While he said federal policies have disheartened many Americans, he emphasized that Florida has shown that hope is not lost.

“The results of this have been predictably dismal, it causes many to be pessimistic about the country’s future. Some even say that failure is inevitable. Florida is proof positive that we the people are not destined for failure,” DeSantis said. “Decline is a choice.”

“Success is attainable. And freedom is worth fighting for,” he added, describing Florida as “freedom’s linchpin” and a “refuge of sanity, a citadel of freedom for our fellow Americans and even for people around the world.”

“In captaining the ship of state, we choose to navigate the boisterous sea of liberty rather than cower in the calm docks of despotism,” DeSantis added.

“We will be on our guard. We will stand firm in the faith. We will be courageous. We will be strong. And we thank God and are proud to be citizens of the great free state of Florida,” DeSantis said, concluding the speech.

Watch the ceremony below: