The rally on the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh was a part of DeSantis’ nationwide tour to bolster key Republican Senate and gubernatorial candidates who even have the backing of Trump. Final week, DeSantis spoke at rallies in Arizona for GOP Senate candidate Blake Masters and Kari Lake, the state’s Republican gubernatorial nominee. He’s additionally stumping for GOP Senate hopeful J.D. Vance in Ohio.
DeSantis has prevented echoing Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen. He has, for instance, mentioned Florida’s 2020 election outcomes went easily and has rejected calls to conduct a statewide audit of the outcomes.
The nationwide marketing campaign tour comes as DeSantis continues to money in on his rising reputation with conservative voters and amid continued hypothesis that he’ll launch a bid for president in 2024.
“It’s my distinct honor and privilege to introduce to you what a governor must be, a fighter for the USA,” Mastriano mentioned, introducing DeSantis. “The most effective governor in the USA, America’s Ron DeSantis from Florida.”
Mastriano is working in a nationally-watched race towards Democratic Legal professional Basic Josh Shapiro. Investigators with the Jan. 6 choose committee have accused Mastriano of plotting to recruit alternate electors in Pennsylvania at hand Trump a victory regardless of Biden successful the state. Mastriano was additionally on the Capitol earlier than insurgents attacked the advanced on Jan. 6. and has confronted blowback for his affiliation with far-right social media platform Gab co-founder Andrew Torba, who has made antisemitic remarks.
The Pennsylvania governor’s race is among the many most high-profile of the 2022 midterms. A latest ballot from Public Opinion Methods had Shapiro with a 50-35 benefit.
DeSantis, nevertheless, solely talked about Mastriano a handful of occasions throughout the Friday rally and targeted totally on his accomplishments in Florida. He claimed, for instance, that Pennsylvania might develop into the “Florida of the North” if voters elected Mastriano.
A lot of DeSantis’ rally speech was a best hits of the speaking factors he has utilized in press conferences in Florida and elsewhere, together with how he rejected Covid-19 mandates, which helped gasoline DeSantis’ rise as a result of he reopened the Florida economic system quicker than most different states.
“Even a few of these institution Republicans had been saying, ‘oh, you’ll be able to’t try this as a result of we had been backing [Anthony] Fauci,’” DeSantis mentioned, referring to the nation’s prime infectious illness specialist, who throughout the pandemic turned a nationwide political boogeyman for Republicans. “We aren’t following a few of these bureaucrats who had no regard to your freedom, who had no regard for the struggles that folks had been going by throughout their insurance policies.”
DeSantis largely lauded his personal conservative accomplishments but in addition cobbled collectively a nationally-focused message on Covid restrictions.
“I see now Philadelphia is forcing masks on college students,” DeSantis mentioned. “And so they mentioned that they had been telling me that Pittsburgh might try this too. There isn’t any justification for muzzling college students for eight hours.”
