[113] In April 2023 he said, I am not a candidate, so well see if and when that changes; at that time, former President Trump was leading DeSantis in polls for the Republican nomination, but DeSantis was performing better than Trump in battleground polling of the general election. It would also make blocking traffic during a protest a third-degree felony and impose criminal penalties for partaking in "violent or disorderly assemblies". [176][177] DeSantis denied the alleged favoritism, defended his handling of the rollout, and pointed toward many vaccines distributed in underserved communities. [165][166][167], By February 2021, DeSantis had generally positive approval ratings, ranging from 51% to 64%. [85] When Rubio ended his presidential bid and ran for reelection to the Senate, DeSantis withdrew from the Senate race and ran for reelection to the House. [141], As a result of a significant increase in gasoline prices, on November 22, 2021, DeSantis announced that he would temporarily waive Florida's gasoline tax in the next legislative session, in 2022. [40], During his military career, DeSantis has been awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Iraq Campaign Medal. [183][184] Amid a July resurgence in new infections,[185] DeSantis banned public schools from implementing mask mandates and thus left mask-wearing up to the students' parents, though he advised them against it because "it's terribly uncomfortable for [children] to do it; there's not very much science behind it". To help you know him better, here are 10 things that you didn't know about Ron DeSantis. [168][169][170] That same month, the Biden administration mulled imposing travel restrictions on Florida and other domestic locations to prevent further spread of COVID-19,[171][172] and DeSantis pledged to oppose any effort "to shut FL's border". [101], DeSantis' gubernatorial platform included support for legislation that would allow people with concealed weapons permits to carry firearms openly. [155] By June, he had adopted a more targeted approach, declaring in mid-June: We're not shutting down, we're gonna go forward, we're gonna continue to protect the most vulnerable.particularly when you have a virus that disproportionately impacts one segment of society, to suppress a lot of working-age people at this point I don't think would likely be very effective. "We're not used to having people pick up for us," DeSantis said while visiting Boca Raton a few weeks later. DeSantis did indeed get married at Disney World in September 2009, something he acknowledged in his February 2023 memoir, "The Courage to Be Free. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/article/disney-florida-desantis.html. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Fantastic.". [145][146][147] He lifted restrictions earlier than most other state governors, but implemented measures to protect the elderly. [284], On May 5, 2021, DeSantis announced that all Florida police officers, firefighters, and paramedics would receive a $1,000 bonus.