DeSantis Campaign Press Release - ICYMI: Ron DeSantis and Casey DeSantis on The Story with Martha MacCallum

"I've seen him conduct himself with grace and with strength and courage and never back down." - First Lady Casey DeSantis

Des Moines, IA - Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis today joined Fox News' Martha MacCallum on The Story. The highlights are below.

Watch the full interview HERE.

On the importance of Mamas for DeSantis and out-of-state mamas' ability to volunteer for DeSantis in Iowa:

FIRST LADY CASEY DESANTIS: We have now Mamas representation in all 99 counties in Iowa, and they are engaged to get out because they know there was only one person in this race, Republican, Democrat, Independent, who's going to stand up for the innocence of our kids, protect parents' rights, and that is Ron DeSantis. And so, we see a lot of momentum, of course, with Governor Reynolds coming out and supporting, Bob Vander Plaats, and people across the board. So I think it's going to be pretty exciting. And also, Martha, I tell you this, we have a huge coalition across the United States of America of mothers and grandmoms. When the governor was reelected, we had a coalition of 1.1 million mothers and grandmoms in the state of Florida. That was the largest that had ever been done in the history of our state, and probably, I would argue, across the nation. We're asking all of these moms and grandmoms to come from wherever it might be -- North Carolina, South Carolina -- and to descend upon the state of Iowa to be a part of the caucus because you do not have to be a resident of Iowa to be able to participate in the caucus. So moms and grandmoms are going to be able to come and be a part and let their voice be heard in support of Ron DeSantis.

On Nikki Haley's inability to stand up for children:

FIRST LADY CASEY DESANTIS: I think what you saw in the debate performance is she is not somebody who stands up for the rights of parents and the innocence of our children. And you saw that in very defining moments when we are talking about these surgeries on minors, these mutilations, she's in favor of that. The governor stands strong against that [and] signed legislation.

On First Lady Casey DeSantis' active role in the campaign:

FIRST LADY CASEY DESANTIS: I have a really unique perspective on the governor because I've been able to see him in front of the cameras, but also at home as the dad of a seven, five, and a three year old. I've seen him fight a lot of battles, whether it's fighting Fauci or fighting the teachers unions. And I've seen him conduct himself with grace and with strength and courage and never back down. And when you come from my perspective of seeing this, I feel it incumbent upon myself to get out to talk about him. It is not about us. It is about what we can do for the country. And when you see someone who I would consider my hero, I want to get out there and sing his praises. And I want the people of Iowa, New Hampshire, and beyond to know, this is the guy that we need at this moment in our nation's history.

On ending the crisis at our southern border:

GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS: We're going to declare the drug cartels to be foreign terrorist organizations. And when our forces or assets positively identify somebody as working with the cartels, then they would be somebody that we would be able to engage. But I've actually been down in parts of the border -- now most of the border is wide open, of course, but the parts where there is a fence, the cartels will just cut right through it. I mean, it's honestly pathetic that this is going on... Biden does not let people, our people be there to stop it. He has the border people off the wall, off the fence, and so this is happening. So, we're going to have all kinds of assets from drones, we're going to have intelligence. And I can tell you this, once you start showing that you're serious about this, you are going to see a change in behavior. They are poisoning our people.