What We Learned Reading Ron DeSantis's Books
June 13, 2023
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as posted by the channelAlthough 12 candidates have entered the Republican presidential race so far, only Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is polling () anywhere close to Donald Trump. What does DeSantis actually believe? How has he governed? And what case will he make to Republicans to vote for him over Trump?
To answer those questions, I wanted to spend some time reading DeSantis in his own words. So I invited Carlos Lozada the Pulitzer Prizewinning former book critic for The Washington Post, current Times Opinion columnist and the author of “What Were We ThinkingA Brief Intellectual History of the Trump Era () ” to join me. Lozada has read many, many books by and about Republican politicians, including DeSantis’s two books, “Dreams From Our Founding FathersFirst Principles in the Age of Obama () ” from 2011 and “The Courage to Be FreeFlorida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival () ,” released this year.
We discuss DeSantis’s striking definition of — and rhetorical assault on — “elites,” why his campaign book makes no effort to showcase bipartisan credentials, DeSantis’s awkward transition from a Tea Party figure to MAGA crusader, what DeSantis has actually done as governor of Florida, why Florida’s Covid record is such a cornerstone of his political appeal, what DeSantis means by “wokeness” and why he’s waging a “war” on it, the surprising absence of major economic ideas from his book, how he is trying to differentiate himself from Trump without alienating Trump voters, whether his aggressive actions toward Disney will backfire and more.
Mentioned:
"America's Ruling Class () " by Angelo Codevilla
Dreams from Our Founding Fathers () by Ron DeSantis
The Courage to Be Free () by Ron DeSantis
How To () by Randall Munroe
Book Recommendations:
Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant () by Ulysses Grant
An Hour Before Daylight () by Jimmy Carter
All the Best, George Bush () by George H.W. Bush
Listen to this podcast in New York Times Audio, our new iOS app for news subscribers. Download now at nytimes.com/audioapp ()
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You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezrakleinpodcast () , and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at () .
This episode was produced by Annie Galvin. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, Mary Marge Locker and Kate Sinclair. Mixing by Efim Shapiro. The show’s production team is Emefa Agawu, Jeff Geld, Rogé Karma and Kristin Lin. Original music by Isaac Jones. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. Special thanks to Sonia Herrero, Edwin Benton, Peter Bergerson, David Wallace-Wells and Kristina Samulewski.
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