The 2024 Republican Presidential primary race continues to simmer, as just about all of the announced or potential candidates converged on Iowa to attend Sen. Joni Ernst's annual “Roast and Ride” political event. During his speech at the “Roast and Ride” event, where he addressed the current “woke” agenda the U.S. Military has embraced, DeSantis stated, “ On Day 1 as Commander-In-Chief, I will rip it all out.”
“I think all of us have a sense of pride in being able to wear the cloth of your country, but we've seen the military become politicized in recent years. you see woke agenda being imposed on it. On Day 1 as Commander-In-Chief, I rip it all out. We're getting the military back to basics, we're going to improve morale, and we're going to get people to want to join the military again,” said DeSantis.
DeSantis has been focusing on his military background and combat experience, touting that he is the only candidate in the race who has served in the military.
The Floridian Publisher Javier Manjarres caught up and spoke to Gov. DeSantis in Lexington, South Carolina on Friday afternoon. According to Manjarres, he and DeSantis spoke briefly on some non-campaign-related issues before DeSantis asked Manjarres if he would also be flying back to Iowa the next day to attend Sen. Ernst's event.
Manjarres flew out to Iowa to cover DeSantis’s campaign kick-off and subsequent statewide events before briefly flying home, and then flying out later in the day to meet up with DeSantis in South Carolina.
During one of his stops in South Carolina, Manjarres asked DeSantis about the importance of a sitting U.S. President having military experience.
"I just think you understand how it works a little better because I think right now that recruiting is very low. And I think it's because the cultural shift in the military has repelled some people from wanting to join, so we'll be able to fix that. But you really got to know what you're doing," DeSantis told Manjarres.
Gov. DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, former California gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Michigan businessman Perry Johnson, and author Vivek Ramaswamy, were all in attendance.
Noticeable absent from the event was former President Donald Trump, who flew into Des Moines earlier in the week to attend a few events just as Gov. Ron DeSantis was wrapping up two days of campaign events
