Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) promised that the changes he would make to the military if he were elected would result in people becoming "more willing to sign up."
The Navy veteran appeared on Newsmax's The Chris Salcedo Show on Thursday to share the policies in his 2024 presidential campaign. DeSantis claimed the veterans he's met along the campaign trail have admitted they would not want their children and grandchildren to enlist today.
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"It's become a petri dish for social experimentation. They're putting political fads over military readiness," DeSantis said of the armed forces. "Morale is in the tank. Recruiting is at a generational low because people want to join a military that's mission focused. They don't want to join the military to be a cog in an overall social experiment."
Instead, the Iraq War veteran promised to "rip the woke out on day one" of his term as president should he win the election. DeSantis suggested that the United States become more aggressive against China since the Biden administration has been "very weak," in his opinion. He recommended the military be more engaged in the Pacific to "deter" the communist country.
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"There's going to be major changes in all the armed services when I become president," DeSantis said. "I can tell you this: Veterans around the country are going to rally to that, and you're going to see people more willing to sign up for the military as a result of getting us focused back to the basics."
DeSantis is facing off against President Donald Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, political commentator Larry Elder, businessman Perry Johnson and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy in the race to win the GOP presidential nomination. If elected, he would be the first president with a military background since George W. Bush.