'Losing his grip': Ron DeSantis says he doesn’t listen to criticism amid new backlash

Gov. Ron DeSantis denied Thursday that he is “losing his grip on Florida” amid the backlash against his administration’s proposal to build golf courses, hotels, and other projects in Florida state parks.

During a news conference in Crystal River, the governor was asked about a Tampa Bay Times article suggesting the outraged reaction to the proposal from a bipartisan collection of elected officials demonstrates a decline in his influence.

The report asked: “Is DeSantis losing his grip on Florida?”

“I’ve never been one to follow chatter at all. I do not care about it. I don’t read the chatter. I don’t listen to the chatter. I don’t do anything. Because the chatter changes. You know, on a daily basis, the news cycles change. That is not the way you can be a leader, by worrying about chatter,” DeSantis insisted.

He said he has “never categorized as me having a grip on anything.”

“I’m the governor, right? I discharge the duties of my office. I have the ability to set an agenda and deliver that agenda.”

The Times report includes comments from Republican state Rep. Randy Fine, outgoing Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, and Democratic Sen. Jason Pizzo following the “revolt” to the state parks proposal.

DeSantis’ Department of Environmental Protection envisioned golf courses, lodges, and pickleball courts in parks. Outrage was widespread enough that the agency postponed public feedback hearings.

DeSantis on Wednesday disclaimed responsibility (even though he met in April with a representative of the foundation that wanted to build three golf courses in Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County) and said the whole idea is going “back to the drawing board.”

Fine told the Times that DeSantis’ administration should have given a heads-up to legislators in whose districts the parks are located. Passidomo maintained that the Legislature’s relationship with the governor has been “very collaborative,” and Pizzo doubted there will be an “all-out assault” against the governor but added that the Legislature feels a little more comfortable “stretching its elbows out in the aisle.”

Among those who rejected the proposal are Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, both Republican members of the independently elected Florida Cabinet, who help manage state lands along with DeSantis.

The remaining member of the Cabinet, Attorney General Ashley Moody, has not responded to a request Wednesday from the Phoenix for her stance on the park proposals.

Last week, a cohort of fellow Republicans sent a letter to the governor asking him to collect more substantial feedback on the proposal. The letter was led by former governor and sitting U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, and U.S. Rep Brian Mast, who represents parts of Palm Beach, Martin, and St. Lucie counties. Also signing were Palm Beach and Martin counties officials, including members of the Florida Legislature.

Reflecting on record

During remarks about the story during a news conference announcing infrastructure grants in the Crystal River area, DeSantis focused largely on what he characterized as a successful record in office.

The governor said the best decisions he has made were reopening schools, prohibiting local work restrictions, and prohibiting mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic — decisions, he said that proved popular.

“The reason we’ve been successful isn’t because I had a grip.” He mentioned blocking gender-affirming care for minors and “some of the things we’ve done with illegal immigration, like the economic policy that people recognize were good policy and they wanted to see it.”

The governor said his pandemic policies were not received well by some members of his party.

“All those decisions that really set the foundation for Florida to boom because we were the Free State of Florida, none of those were considered popular at the time,” DeSantis said.

“Quite frankly, there were a lot of Republicans who were not supportive of what I was doing. Every Republican now says those were the right decisions. At the time, that was not the case. So, if you listen to chatter, you’re not going to be able to get the job done.”

The governor said he believes cooperation with the Legislature will continue.

“We’ve worked with people like [Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, who was present at the news conference] and the Legislature very well, and I think we’ll continue to do that, but we’re going to continue to be very, very successful,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis said Republicans will “clearly” retain their supermajority in the Senate following the November General Election (they also hold one in the state House). He called 2022 a “high water mark,” and said, “We’ll see how [20]24 plays out, but I think it’s going to be a good year.”

Similar predictions of “ the fever breaking” following a raft of culture-war initiatives as DeSantis pursued his abortive campaign for president have surfaced following the primary elections last week in which, of the 24 school board candidates DeSantis endorsed, six won, seven will face runoffs in November, and 11 lost.

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