On Friday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was on the presidential nominee campaign trail, stopping in Greensboro, North Carolina, for the GOP state convention. On the heels of the news of former President Donald Trump’s indictment, audiences were curious if the Governor of Florida would add to his statement from Friday about his Republican campaign rival.

Weaponization of Government

DeSantis regularly speaks about the weaponization of government on the campaign trail, and in Greensboro, it was no different.

DESANTIS slams the “different standard for a Democrat secretary of state and a former Republican president.”

“There needs to be ONE standard of justice in this country. Let’s enforce it on everybody … You can’t have one faction of society weaponizing the power of the state… pic.twitter.com/uEaVf4dh2o

— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) June 9, 2023

DeSantis said:

Our Founding Fathers would have absolutely predicted the weaponization that we’ve seen with these agencies, particularly Justice and FBI, because when you don’t have Constitutional accountability, human nature is such that they will abuse their power, and that’s what happened. Nobody has held them accountable. 

On this topic, DeSantis did allude to Trump, saying:

And is there a different standard for a Democrat Secretary of State versus a former Republican president? I think there needs to be one standard of justice in this country. Let’s enforce it on everybody and make sure we all know the rules.You can’t have one faction of society weaponizing the power of the state against factions that it doesn’t like, and that’s what you see. And here’s the thing… there’s obviously very high-profile examples.

DeSantis went on give examples of weaponization of the government against ordinary Americans like pro-life advocates and parents attending school board meetings, saying:

It’s not just affecting people at the top, it’s affecting people all throughout our country.

Not Targeting Trump Indictment

Campaign insiders close to Trump’s GOP opponents were not expected to weaponize the former President’s indictment as a campaign tactic, as I reported Thursday:

Top campaign brass for political rivals are reportedly tracking the story but aren’t using it as an “opening,” thinking that Republican voters are likely to rally to Trump’s side. The rival camps predict that if another indictment drops, this one in Georgia, the Trump candidacy will “bleed out.”

Context: In May 2022, a special purpose grand jury was convened in Georgia to investigate allegations of election interference. After an extensive eight-month investigation, the grand jury prepared a final report for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. This report included undisclosed recommendations regarding individuals they believed should face indictment, though these findings have not yet been released to the public.

Per one veteran GOP strategist close to “one of Trump’s biggest rivals”: 

“At the end of the day, this probably plays out like the FBI search but a lot is going to depend on the specifics that come out.”

While DeSantis wasn’t aiming to exploit the indictment news against Trump, he did make several references to Dr. Anthony Fauci, who was the face of the COVID pandemic and a polarizing figure in the White House’s response under the Trump administration.

Fort Bragg

Much of the substance of DeSantis’ speech on Friday in North Carolina mirrored the remarks he gave in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I transcribed many of his quotes and sentiments, here: Ron DeSantis Concludes His Iowa Tour With a Speech in Cedar Rapids

But since his Iowa tour one of the largest military bases in the country, Fort Bragg, which is located in North Carolina, was renamed. Last week it became ‘Fort Liberty’ in a Biden administration move to “fight racial injustice.” In total, nine military bases are undergoing renaming under the same initiative.

DeSantis spoke out against this in Fort Bragg’s backyard, saying:

I also look forward to, as President, restoring the name of Fort Bragg to our great military base in Fayetteville, North Carolina. And thank the people that have served there,and they’re proud of their service there. And we’re not gonna let political correctness run amok in North Carolina.

DESANTIS: "I also look forward to, as President, restoring the name of FORT BRAGG to our great military base in Fayetteville, North Carolina… It's an iconic name and iconic base, and we're not gonna let political correctness run amok." pic.twitter.com/Bf7f93CLao

— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) June 9, 2023

DeSantis’ comments about the historic Army base were well received by members of North Carolina’s Republican Party. A recent poll in North Carolina shows DeSantis beating Biden in a general election by three points more than Donald Trump would. Meanwhile, Trump leads the 2024 North Carolina Primary field with 44 percent to DeSantis’ 22 percent.