Ron DeSantis and Charlie Crist faced off on Monday evening in the first and only gubernatorial debate of the cycle. With just two weeks remaining for election day, it was the final chance for Crist to showcase his candidacy in the face of the incumbent governor’s bully pulpit.
How did it go for the Democrat? People will have to make up their own minds on that, but for my money, the beatdown by DeSantis was so thorough that I almost don’t even know where to begin. There are so many clips of him decimating Crist that I could easily cover a dozen different ones and still have more material left over.
I won’t belabor the point to that degree, but there are some highlights that are worth sharing, beginning with what was the line of the night from DeSantis.
"I know Charlie wants to talk about 2024 and Joe Biden, but let me be clear: The only worn-out old donkey I want to put out to pasture is @CharlieCrist." – @RonDeSantisFL 🐐 pic.twitter.com/2LAqHqmxac
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 #FloridaStrong (@DeSantisWarRoom) October 24, 2022
That rhetorical uppercut actually happened early on in the debate, and it was a preview of things to come as DeSantis just went ham on Crist. Some of the governor’s better responses came on the issue of “gender-affirming care” for children, an issue he has led on while many other Republican politicians have cowered.
DeSantis: "I'm simply defending parents and students, because…it's inappropriate to tell a 6-year-old that they were born in the wrong body. It's inappropriate to tell an 8-year old that they may have been born a girl, but maybe they're really a boy, that's wrong." pic.twitter.com/pSWeX6K5Uq
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) October 24, 2022
15-year-olds can't get a tattoo in the state of Florida — why should they be able to get an elective double mastectomy? Let kids be kids, instead of pressuring them to make life-altering decisions that they will likely regret. pic.twitter.com/cOosvXDJ7h
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 #FloridaStrong (@DeSantisWarRoom) October 24, 2022
Crist was thrown so off guard that he started rambling about abortion when pressed on the mutilation of children going on at “transgender clinics” across the country. He simply had no defense for what he and his party support, which isn’t shocking given there can be no defense for chopping off a teenage girl’s breasts or sterilizing a teenage boy.
On education, DeSantis remained in his element, hammering Crist for opposing a bill that simply stops the teaching of sexuality by teachers to kindergarteners. Crist’s support for keeping schools closed and forcing COVID vaccinations on kids was also brought up.
.@RonDeSantisFL: I would say when you oppose the Parents’ Rights in Education Bill, which prevents 6, 7, & 8-year-olds from having sexuality & gender ideology injected into their curriculum, you are the one that’s waging the culture war.
I’m simply defending parents & students. pic.twitter.com/tkLDNG6Q1C
— Byron Donalds (@ByronDonalds) October 24, 2022
WATCH: Charlie Crist claims reopening Florida was "politically convenient"
DeSantis responds: "His supporters sued me to keep the kids out of school in 2020." pic.twitter.com/tvLQ6gNSDQ
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) October 24, 2022
The topic of crime was then hit, with Crist attempting to pretend he’s tough on crime after previously wanting to defund the police as recently as 2021.
.@RonDeSantisFL on #DefundCharlie: "He used to be tough on crime, six political parties ago. Now, he has admitted he softened up on crime." pic.twitter.com/yTtYOMxlPN
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 #FloridaStrong (@DeSantisWarRoom) October 25, 2022
On drugs, DeSantis defended his decision to up penalties on drug dealers that move highly deadly substances like fentanyl, saying he is treating them like the murderers they are. Critical Race Theory in schools was covered as well, with DeSantis stating, “The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.”
I could keep going on the issue-based stuff, but we’d be here all night. I’ll end with this banger of an attack by DeSantis, where he just tears Crist apart.
"Do you know how many days [Charlie Crist] showed up to work in Washington, DC this year? 14 days. Imagine that deal for you. You show up 14 days and make over 100 grand? That's the type of effort this guy puts in."
– @RonDeSantisFL 🔥 pic.twitter.com/sGpWKZUQki
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 #FloridaStrong (@DeSantisWarRoom) October 25, 2022
Look, maybe there’s some universe where Crist wins this race after the dressing down he received at this debate. I just don’t think it’s our universe. DeSantis is going to win comfortably, and when he does, his star will only rise further, and we all know how much terror that strikes into the hearts of liberals everywhere.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member