Ron DeSantis: 'We rejected the elites, and we were right'

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took a victory lap of sorts, telling to an audience on Sunday that when he pushed back against conventional wisdom from Washington, D.C., he turned out to be right.

Speaking to National Conservatism Conference in Aventura, Florida, DeSantis listed a number of issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic where he bucked the national trends.

"We rejected the elites, and we were right," DeSantis said, according to the Daily Caller. "Not only were they wrong about [closing] schools, the elites were wrong about lockdowns, they were wrong about epidemiological models and hospitalization models, they were wrong about forced masking, they were wrong when they rejected the existence of natural immunity, they were wrong about the efficacy of the mRNA vaccines, and they were wrong when – and I said this – that COVID was seasonal, and now they admit it."

In addition to taking a shot at the government, DeSantis also took a shot at powerful corporations – and those in his own party who cater to them in their quest to oppose the government.

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"Corporatism is not the same as free enterprise, and I think too many Republicans have viewed limited government to basically mean whatever is best for corporate America is how we want to do the economy," the governor said.

"My view is, obviously, free enterprise is the best economic system, but that is a means to an end. It’s a means to having a good and fulfilling life and a prosperous society. It’s not an end in and of itself," DeSantis added. "The United States is a nation that has an economy, not the other way around, and our economy should be geared for helping our own people."

Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida, speaks during the 2022 Victory Dinner in Hollywood, Florida, US, on Saturday, July 23, 2022. Governor Ron DeSantis emerged as a top rival to former President Donald Trump in GOP primary contest should Trump decide to run again.  (Photographer: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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DeSantis famously took on The Walt Disney Company when Disney spoke out against Florida's Parental Rights in Education law, which prohibits schools from discussing sexuality and gender with young children in third grade or below.

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"Florida’s HB 1557, also known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, should never have passed and should never have been signed into law," the company said in a statement that echoed Democrats' characterization of the law. "Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts, and we remain committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to achieve that."

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After that, DeSantis signed a bill stripping Disney of the special self-governing status the company enjoyed for more than 50 years.