By Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis
Watching President Donald Trump go in and out of a courtroom in New York City this week is making me angry. Our former president is facing ongoing legal challenges from Democrats in New York, Washington D.C., and Atlanta just because he filed to run for President again. Desperate Democrats are not just trying to beat Trump at the ballot box, they’re trying to throw him behind bars.
Everyone should be outraged by how our justice system is being weaponized by partisan, left-wing Democrats. If it can happen to the former leader of the free world, it can happen to me and you. As a Floridian, I am even more passionate about protecting my fellow Floridian, Donald Trump. There must be more we can do.
In the most recent legislative session, I proposed setting up a legal defense fund to help Florida candidates who decide to run for President and have to defend themselves from a partisan justice system weaponized against them only after they declare their candidacy. This would be available to any qualified candidate from Florida - from either party - and it would be funded by fees Florida candidates pay for qualifying for office.
In my proposed “Defending Freedom Fighters Fund,” we would take $5 million from Florida’s Public Campaign Finance Matching Funds Program, meaning this funding is already going to candidates in Florida to support their run for office. Currently, the Matching Funds program, explained in detail on the State’s Division of Elections website, is only available to statewide candidates. My proposed “Defending Freedom Fighters Fund” would have expanded this access to include Floridians who run for president and have the justice system weaponized against them after they declare their candidacy.
As we told the legislature, we could even backfill this program, if needed, by allowing Floridians to make voluntary contributions to it when they register for their driver's licenses.
Thankfully, Florida leads the nation in economic growth and fiscal sanity. That means we are now well-equipped to stand strong against those who are trying to weaponize our justice system and turn us into a third-world country where corruption and violence rule the day.
Remember, it was our trusty US government who already got our own banks to flag purchases that used the terms “MAGA”, “Trump”, “Bass Pro Shops” and “Cabelas” to track people as potential extremists. Any of us could be next. Let’s fight back. Let’s make sure Florida is not afraid to stand up for those who are unfairly targeted by the judicial system when their sense of justice has been traded in for politics. It is time to turn our anger and outrage over what is happening to Donald Trump into action. Maybe we can implement the Defending Freedom Fighter’s fund, or something even better than last year’s proposal, during the next session of Florida’s legislature. We are far past the point of just hoping for the best. Let’s give action a try.
