In Iowa, DeSantis vows to send ‘Joe Biden back to his basement’

CLIVE — With a little bit of criticism for the two most recent presidents and a lot for “elites” and so-called “woke” ideology including issues of gender identity, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis officially kicked off his presidential campaign with a rally Tuesday night at a suburban Des Moines church.

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DeSantis launched his campaign with more than a half-hour’s worth of remarks to roughly 500 people squeezed into Eternity Church. DeSantis highlighted policies advanced during his tenure as governor, and criticized Democratic President Joe Biden.

“Our great American comeback starts by sending Joe Biden back to his basement in Delaware,” DeSantis said. “Our country is going in the wrong direction.”

DeSantis joins a GOP presidential primary that in early polling has been dominated by former Republican President Donald Trump. While DeSantis did not mention Trump by name, he did make a thinly veiled reference at one point in his remarks.

“At the end of the day, leadership is not about entertainment … It’s not about building a brand. It’s not about virtue signaling,” DeSantis said. “In Florida, we didn’t lead with words. We lead with deeds.”

DeSantis added later that Republicans must overcome what he described as a culture of losing in recent years, and said Republicans must look forward.

The event kicked off a big week of events on the presidential campaign in Iowa, in which Trump and DeSantis will both be in the state.

DeSantis is scheduled to hold four events Wednesday — in Sioux City, Council Bluffs, Pella and Cedar Rapids.

Then, Trump gets into Iowa on Wednesday evening for an interview on a conservative radio program in Des Moines. On Thursday, he’ll speak to a suburban Des Moines conservative club at the Machine Shed restaurant, then host a luncheon with Iowa faith leaders, according to his campaign. He will finish that evening by appearing on a Fox News town hall, broadcast from suburban Des Moines.

And this weekend, Iowa Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst hosts her annual Roast and Ride fundraiser, which this year will feature all of the major Republican presidential candidates except Trump. DeSantis was the latest to confirm, announcing Tuesday morning that he plans to attend the event at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.

The hundreds of Republicans who gathered Tuesday night to DeSantis rose to their feet a half-dozen times, mostly when he spoke about policies regarding LGBTQ individuals, like a ban on gender transition surgeries for minors, the use of alternate pronouns for school students and teaching of LGBTQ and race-related topics in schools.

“We stand for the protection of children. On that point there will be no compromise,” DeSantis said. “This woke ideology represents a war on truth itself.”

DeSantis, as he has in previous visits to Iowa, highlighted legislation passed in Florida, much of which is similar to legislation passed in recent years by the Republican majorities in the Iowa Legislature.

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He also called for immigration policies that would reduce illegal border crossings, and policies that provide more support to local law enforcement. And he criticized public health policies that were rolled out during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trump’s campaign issued a series of statements of support from Iowa Republican state lawmakers who have announced their support for the former president; highlighted Trump administration policies that the campaign said was good for Iowans, including on ethanol and trade; and laid out a number of criticisms of policies advanced or supported by DeSantis.

Democrats also offered their criticism of DeSantis. National Democrats deployed a mobile billboard, which drew attention to technical issues that plagued DeSantis’ official campaign announcement this past week on Twitter Spaces.

And Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart, in an online call with reporters, criticized new laws passed under DeSantis in Florida that heightened abortion restrictions and loosened gun ownership regulations.

“While he focuses on culture wars, DeSantis has done nothing to address the biggest economic challenges that are facing families,” Hart asserted.