Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) commented on the controversial opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, noting that the overt mocking of Christianity is a clear “symbol of cultural decline.”
“The mockery of Christians during the Olympics opening ceremony is a symbol of cultural decline,” DeSantis wrote on social media.
“Elites in Western Europe have rejected the values that made their countries great. We are fighting that same battle here in the United States—are we going to be rooted in truth? Florida has made our choice,” he continued, sharing the longer answer he offered during a press conference.
“I look at this, this Olympics opening ceremony, and, you know, honestly, like, I wasn’t, like, necessarily — I don’t get offended,” DeSantis began.
“People say things that I disagree with all the time, but I was just sad seeing this. It’s like, you know, that was really a symbol of the decline of Western civilization,” he continued, noting the hypocrisy:
I don’t think, on the closing ceremony, they’re going to do anything where they mock Islam. I don’t think that’s going to happen. I’d be willing to bet a lot of money that doesn’t happen. And, so, when they’re doing that, you know, and they’re mocking the Last Supper like that, it just shows that so much of, particularly Western Europe, you know, they’ve really walked away from the values that once made those countries great.
DeSantis remarked that people are “in that battle here in the United States and have been for many, many years.”
The battle, he continued, is about being rooted in truth:
Are we going to be rooted in things that have real, serious meaning? And, you know, of all the things that you can say is, we’ve put our stake in the ground here in Florida very strong, and people have responded by us being the top destination for people to want to move to.
Indeed, the opening ceremony widely became known as the “gayest opening ceremony ever,” even recreating Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper” with drag queens and transgender performers. As Breitbart News detailed:
The “Last Supper” parody was set beside one side of a catwalk, and after cameras performed the close-ups of the scene surrounding the plus-sized model, the cameras then shifted position to show dozens of models parading down the catwalk in various gender-bending fashions, including numerous male models in dresses and skirts.
The opening ceremony also featured an explicitly LGBTQ+ scene, as three dancers in “gender-ambiguous costumes ran through the streets of Paris and into a building.”
“Their segment ended with the three — two males and one female — nearing each other in dramatic kisses, then entering a room to further their amorous acts,” as Breitbart News reported.
A drag queen who carried the torch of the Olympic flame in the controversial opening ceremony was pleased about the outrage over the spectacle, which openly mocked Christianity, warning, “ We ain’t going nowhere.”