Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to be the next president of the United States. He has successfully replicated Donald Trump’s general obdurate dunderhead mannerisms—the ones so applauded by the MAGA base. He has also been able to hoodwink popular online libertarians into believing that his ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ approach to COVID-19 policy was successful, even though all evidence shows it was not.
In recent weeks, DeSantis has started to strike hard with national GOP talking points in order to both up his profile and prime the pump for the inevitable announcement that he’s going to run for president in 2024. One of the third-rail issues for Republicans that is difficult to play both sides of, especially in states that honestly can swing either way (like Florida), is abortion. Reproductive rights have been revoked for millions of Americans after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, and while many conservatives are uneasy about abortion and women, specifically, having rights, they don’t actually believe the government should control everyone’s bodies.
Early in July, DeSantis and his fellow Florida Republicans cheered their victory at being able to thwart reproductive rights by reinstating the 15-week abortion ban law they hastily pushed through. However, this was the comprise version of what the GOP really wants, which is an all-out ban on reproductive rights for pregnant individuals.