Ron DeSantis rants about ‘indoctrinating children’ after seeing one single Pride flag
Ron DeSantis has ranted about “indoctrinating children”, at a campaign rally for his bid to become the next president of the United States.
The Florida governor – who has targeted the LGBTQ+ community with his Don’t Say Gay law and by repeatedly working to remove rights from the trans community – announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination in May.
During his latest effort to secure the nomination, at an event in Tega Cay, South Carolina, DeSantis lost his cool at an LGBTQ+ activist who pulled out a single Pride flag.
The talk on Monday (17 July) lasted about 45 minutes, during which DeSantis responded to questions from an audience of about 850 people.
But he lost his composure when an apparent LGBTQ+ activist, who was wearing a Pride flag t-shirt, unravelled a Pride flag and reportedly began shouting slogans, the Independent reported.
The activist was taken out of the room while DeSantis yelled: “We don’t want you indoctrinating our children” and “leave our kids alone”, to the applause of the crowd.
WATCH: Protester with pride flag interrupts Gov. DeSantis during campaign speech pic.twitter.com/pVpx3fdcRN
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 17, 2023
Some people have suggested that the protest was staged.
The Republican primary race is largely seen as a two-horse race between Donald Trump and DeSantis, with the governor consistently trailing the former president in the polls.
A recent Mainstreet Research/Florida Atlantic University poll put Trump on 54 per cent with DeSantis on 37 per cent, while some Republicans surveyed remain undecided.
The polling took place before DeSantis released a one-minute video where he boasted about his anti-LGBTQ+ legacy, celebrated signing the “most extreme slate of anti-trans laws in modern history” and getting Pride events cancelled.
The campaign advert also took aim at Trump for his supposed support of queer people despite him having one of the worst presidential track records when it comes to protecting the LGBTQ+ community.