Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida said Wednesday that voters are frustrated because the country is in “decline” and President Biden’s economic vision is making things worse for working-class families.

Mr. DeSantis, in the first GOP presidential primary debate of the 2024 election cycle, said voters have the chance to turn things around, and he has shown what needs to be done on his watch in Florida.

“This decline is not inevitable. It is a choice,” Mr. DeSantis said. “We need to send Joe Biden back to his basement and reverse American decline.”

“It starts with the understanding we must reverse Bidenomincs so that middle-class families have a chance to succeed again,” he said.

Mr. DeSantis made the remarks after he was asked to spell out why country-folk singer Oliver Anthony’s Song “Rich Men North of Richmond” has hit home with so many Americans struggling to get by.

“We cannot succeed as a country if you are working hard and you can’t afford groceries, a car, or a new home while Hunter Biden can make hundreds of thousands of dollars on lousy paintings,” he said. “That is wrong.”

“We also cannot succeed when Congress spends trillions and trillions of dollars,” Mr. DeSantis said. “Those are the rich men north of Richmond who have put us in this situation.”

The debate site is Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which will host the GOP national convention next year.

• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.