Live Coverage: Ron DeSantis’ campaign stop in Bluffton

9:10 a.m.: Republican Presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis arrived at the Okatie Ale House to an overflow crowd on a warm South Carolina morning. The candidate was greeted by state Reps. Gary Brewer and Chris Murphy. The crowd of approximately 1,000 supporters was mixed with the expected representation of older voters, but there was a significant contingent of the youth vote. In the moments leading up to DeSantis’ arrival, Peter Hughes, in his early 20s, from Bluffton said, “Kids like us, we want to see a president that’s going to do the best for the country. ... As well as Trump did running (the country) like a business, I think DeSantis has more experience. He can show this country and this younger generation what a Republican really is.“

9:35 a.m.: DeSantis began his remarks with a jab at President Joe Biden, “Our great American comeback will officially begin when we send Joe Biden back to his basement in Delaware.” He then moved to taking a shot at Hunter Biden, “If Hunter were a Republican, he would’ve been in jail by now and we know that.”

9:38 a.m.: DeSantis leaned into his popular talking points including the crisis at the southern border, Covid mandates and “woke mind virus.”

Other quotes from his speech:

9:44 a.m.: “We run budget surpluses in the state of Florida. We’ve got a strong economy. We manage our budget and resources very well. … If we were our one country, it would be the 13th largest economy in the world.”

9:46 a.m.: “We need to make sure every institution in our society isn’t going on an ideological joyride.”

“I have parents and grandparents lining up to me saying they wouldn’t want their kids and grandkids to join the military right now because it’s going woke. They drove people off with the Covid shot mandates. They drove off a lot of good warriors with that. We’re going to offer those people their jobs back.”

9:50 a.m.: “A leader cannot put short-term political calculations over the people he represents,” DeSantis said, noting some of his political supporters asked him to “reverse course” on his policies.

9:54 a.m.: DeSantis touted his success in re-opening the damaged Pine Island (Florida) bridge in three days after Hurricane Ian. An attendee who said she was from Pine Island shouted, “Thank you,” from the audience. DeSantis replied, “We we’re happy to do it.”

9:56 a.m.: DeSantis moved on to talk about his leadership in the passage of Constitutional carry, the law that allow for legal gun owners to carry their weapon in the state. He detailed adding seven conservative state Supreme Court justices, “We had the most liberal Supreme Court in the country when I took office; we now have the most conservative.”

9:59 a.m.: DeSantis leaned into a familiar foe, the push toward diversity and inclusion. “We have banned DEI in our schools. They say it’s diversity, equity and inclusion, but in reality it’s just ideology being imposed on students and faculty. In this country you should be able to get a job or go to school without participating in the work Olympics.”

10:02 a.m.: DeSantis paused his remarks and turned the microphone over to his wife, Casey DeSantis.

10:12 a.m.: Returning to the microphone, DeSantis spoke about his showdown against the “800 pound gorilla Disney”“These republicans now are attacking me and are siding with Disney. … I think they’re going to get favor with the media or something. We oppose the sexualization of children, we oppose anyone that seeks to rob our children of our innocence, and on those principles there will be no compromise “

10:15 a.m.: “Right now for the first time since the civil war there is not one single democrat elected to statewide office in the sunshine state. That is what you call winning”

10:25 a.m.: DeStantis made his closing remarks, “I think the last few years have shown us just as fragile freedom really is, it’s not our birthright …If you support me and help me win this nomination for the Republican Party then you can set your calendar for Jan 25, 2025 and I will be on the west side of the US Capitol this right hand will be on the Bible and I will take office as the 47th president of the United States.

10:28 a.m.: Ron DeSantis and his wife Casey exit the stage.

This story was originally published June 2, 2023 at 9:41 AM.