London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Who is Ron DeSantis? The Elon Musk backed governor people are calling the next Trump

Who is Ron DeSantis? The Elon Musk backed governor people are calling the next Trump

The Tom Cruise-loving, Disney-hating pro-lifer is tipped to be one of the biggest candidates in the next race for president. Maddy Mussen uncovers some parts of Ron DeSantis you might not have seen on the news

This week, a man called Ron DeSantis was re-elected as governor of Florida, securing his second term. Now, it’s widely accepted he will be running for president in 2024.

In fact, it’s not only his campaign that’s widely accepted, it’s the fact that DeSantis is looking like a very legitimate threat. Not just to the Democrats, but to any Republicans standing against him, too - including the once-omnipotent Donald Trump.

His family has been described as looking like they are “ready-made for a campaign brochure”, he studied at Yale then Harvard (the school which has produced the most US presidents), he was in the Navy, he was captain of the baseball team - the list goes on. For better or worse, he’s the American dream.

But what does the 44-year-old governor actually stand for, how did he manage to secure the backing of one of the world’s most powerful men and new Twitter overlord supreme, Elon Musk, and why does he scare Trump so much? Let’s take a look.


He loves Tom Cruise


Ron DeSantis in a Top Gun-inspired campaign ad


During DeSantis’s time at Harvard Law School, he was recruited to serve on the legal arm of the US navy, the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps, working with detainees in Guantanamo Bay. Yet his inspiration to make this choice came from an unlikely place: Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men. Cruise plays Daniel Kaffee, a US military lawyer who’s tasked with defending two US marines charged with murdering a fellow marine at the naval base in, you guessed it, Guantanamo Bay.

DeSantis has drawn on Cruise’s likeness many times since then, including during campaign videos, where he impersonates Cruise’s role in Top Gun (dubbed “Top Gov” in the video), clad in aviators and a G-1 flight jacket, and explains how to take down the “corporate media” as if he’s instructing troops.


And he hates Disney… but oh, he also got married there


Ron and Casey DeSantis at a Trump campaign rally in 2018


One of DeSantis’s most prominent acts within his first term as governor was backing a bill now commonly known as “Don’t Say Gay”, which banned discussions of sexual orientation or gender identity in primary schools. Then Disney - which has a strangely prominent place in Florida politics due to its huge, money-making resort, Disneyland Florida - got involved. Bob Chapek, the CEO of Disney, said the company was firmly opposed to the bill after facing pressure to pick a side.

“It is clear that this is not just an issue about a bill in Florida, but instead yet another challenge to basic human rights,” an email to Disney employees, obtained by Rolling Stone, read. “You needed me to be a stronger ally in the fight for equal rights and I let you down. I am sorry.”

DeSantis didn’t like this one bit, and decided to strip Disney of its special status, which had allowed the corporation to operate in Florida with lower taxes for decades. “This state is governed by the interest of the people of the state of Florida, it is not based on the demands of California corporate executives,” DeSantis said in a speech following his decision.

And yet, pictures of Ron DeSantis’s wedding day obtained by Insider show that the governor married his wife, Casey, in 2010, in none other than… Disneyland Florida. Not great optics there.


His wife is a cancer survivor and ex-news anchor


Ron DeSantis speaking at a Florida Clinical Research Centre alongside his wife, Casey


The First Lady of Florida, 42-year-old Casey DeSantis, has frequently been referred to as Ron DeSantis’s “secret weapon” in his political arsenal - even to Ron’s face, but he doesn’t seem to mind at all.

Casey DeSantis is a former news anchor and reporter, as well as a mother-of two and a cancer survivor. She was declared cancer-free in March 2022 and has spoken openly about her breast-cancer journey, including in campaign videos for her husband.

“When I was diagnosed with cancer, and I was facing the battle for my life, he was the dad that took care of my children when I couldn’t,” Casey DeSantis says in one video.

Most recently, the Florida First Lady helped spearhead much of the fundraising in the wake of Hurricane Ian, which ravaged the state, killing 109 people across 19 Florida counties and leaving 600,000 homes and businesses without power for days.


DeSantis is pro-life, but seems to be playing it down


DeSantis speaks at a campaign rally ahead of Tuesday’s election


As well as ‘Don’t Say Gay’, DeSantis’s other notable political decision during his first term as governor was signing one of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the US, which came into effect on July 1. The Mississippi-style law bans most abortions after 15 weeks, with no exceptions for rape and incest, down from the 2-week standard that had been in place for nearly half-a-century.

However, the majority of Floridians are actually pro-choice. A statewide poll showed that actually, 57 per cent of those polled in Florida disagreed with the new 15-week legislation, and want less restrictions on abortion - not more. So, as you might expect with an election looming, DeSantis has been notably quiet about abortion over the past few weeks. He was forced to defend the bill in one debate, though, where he also made a string of false claims about abortion - saying that a foetus is fully formed by 15 weeks and can feel pain. Neither of these things is true. The governor also refused to confirm whether he would instate further abortion restrictions if he were to secure a second term, so now we just have to wait and see.


He’s supported by Musk and feared by Trump


DeSantis and Trump together at The White House


DeSantis is being hailed as “the next Trump” by many, and seems to have the same ability to make headlines as the MAGA-pedalling ex-president.

“He’s willing to play the role of culture-warrior-in-chief,” Republican National Committee spokesman Doug Heye told the BBC.

“Trump was never about policy. He was all about attitude,” Heye explained. “DeSantis certainly engages in Trump tactics, but there are both political and policy goals in mind behind them.”

Perhaps this is why he is supported by the likes of Elon Musk and GOP mega donor Ken Griffin, both of whom are billionaires. Musk tweeted his support of DeSantis back in June, when asked who he was leaning towards for the 2024 presidential campaign, and further praised the governor in July, tweeting: “If DeSantis runs against Biden in 2024, then DeSantis will easily win - he doesn’t even need to campaign.”


You can see then why this would annoy Trump, who hates when things are not about Trump. The former president once endorsed DeSantis for governor, calling him a “tough, brilliant… cookie”, but since DeSantis’s sights have moved to Washington, Trump has changed his tune, most recently dubbing the governor “Ron De-Sanctimonious”.

He even advised against him running, telling Fox News: “I don’t know if he is running. I think, if he runs, he could hurt himself very badly. I really believe he could hurt himself badly. I don’t think it would be good for the party.”

But Trump isn’t as good at hiding fear as he thinks he is, and it’s clear that this Ron De-Santimonious has got him shaking in his boots. Whether that translates to a presidential bid, we’re yet to see, but it’s looking like just a matter of time.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Macron and his wife to provide 'scientific photographic evidence' that she is a real woman
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
×