Sunshine Summit: ‘In Florida, We Don’t Just Talk. We Do’

HOLLYWOOD, Florida — “Florida leads the nation” seemed to be the theme of this year’s Sunshine Summit, which featured Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) as well as several well-known conservative personalities.

The Sunshine Summit made waves prior to the actual event, as it was not open to the press. In other words, establishment media outlets, or what DeSantis press secretary Christina Pushaw referred to as “liberal media activists,” were not invited to attend the event to spread fake news. 

“It has come to my attention that some liberal media activists are mad because they aren’t allowed into #SunshineSummit this weekend,” Pushaw wrote on Thursday.

“My message to them is to try crying about it. Then go to kickboxing and have a margarita,” she continued, mimicking advice offered by former White House press secretary Jen Psaki. “And write the same hit piece you were gonna write anyway”:

https://twitter.com/ChristinaPushaw/status/1550312275457851394

Nonetheless, the summit featured key conservative figures — from Mark Levin, who hosted two congressional debates, as well as guest speakers such as Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL), and the governor himself:

My good friend @marklevinshow moderated this morning’s congressional debates at the Sunshine Summit and I thought I’d join him for a few questions.

The road to taking back the U.S. Congress from Nancy Pelosi begins in Florida! pic.twitter.com/eQuEAelZLV

— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantisFL) July 23, 2022

The event itself featured four key congressional debates, one of which former President Trump has identified as a “key” to Republicans taking back the House. This Breitbart News reporter served as the panelist for two of those debates, one of which featured GOP candidates vying for Democrat Rep. Charlie Crist’s (D-FL) district.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Lt. Gov. Jeanette Núñez, and DeSantis later spoke at the Sunshine Summit’s Victory Dinner, where the governor touted his administration’s victories against vaccine mandates and the “Brandon Administration.” If Florida did not lead the way, DeSantis said, many other states wouldn’t have followed suit and the lockdown era could have won. The Sunshine State, however, kept the nation free by leading the way, he stressed.

DeSantis also emphasized that a GOP majority must do something if they get a majority.

“I’m sick of them talking,” he said, later adding, “In Florida. We don’t just talk. We do.”

Indeed, Florida has stood as what the governor has previously described as “America’s liberty outpost” in an era lof ockdowns, mandates, and other blatant attempts of federal government overreach over the past two years.

“In the state of Florida, we don’t just sit back and wait for things to happen. We go on offense. We make sure that we’re leading and we make sure we’re getting out ahead of issues, and we are consistently ahead on issue after issue, in front of and before any other state,” he said.

“In fact, I have friends across the country, and they say all they do is watch Florida because they figure three months later their state may get around and doing what we’re doing,” he added.

Indeed, despite narratives from the mainstream media, hordes of individuals have flocked to the state over the past year — including lockdown lobbyists. DeSantis referenced the “massive shift” the state has seen in terms of voter registration, as Republicans outnumber Democrats by over 200,000 voters.

“I think that that’s going to continue. We obviously have the wind at our back, because even people that are not Republicans and even people that have been voting for Democrats lately, they see in their own lives the effect of Biden’s policies, and so they’re dissatisfied,” he said.

“So we have an opportunity to build a massive coalition here in the state of Florida, and I think it’s there for the taking, but you gotta be ready for battle,” he added before referencing Ephesians 6, urging conservatives to “put on the full armor of God.”