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A former Florida state attorney who was fired by Ron DeSantis has warned that the governor may be more "dangerous" than Donald Trump if elected president.
Andrew Warren was fired as the Hillsborough County State Attorney in August after indicating he would not enforce restrictions on abortion and gender therapy announced by DeSantis. Warren said in a CNN opinion piece alongside Norm Eisen, attorney and former U.S. ambassador to the Czech Republic, that DeSantis is "as dangerous—or more—than Trump." The comments came after the Florida Republican recently confirmed he is running for president in 2024.
The column details a number of examples in which DeSantis is similar to the former president in terms of =his contempt for "democracy and the rule of law," including the "stunning abuse of power" in the firing of Warren after he suggested he would not press charges against women or doctors who violate Florida's proposed 15-week abortion ban.
In January 2023, a judge said the suspension violated the Florida Constitution and "was based in part" on a violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Warren is currently appealing his firing through the courts but has been unsuccessful in his attempts to get reinstated thus far.
"DeSantis' record reveals a modern-day Machiavelli. Nowhere is this better exemplified than his infamous stunt using Florida tax dollars to deceive nearly 50 migrants into boarding a plane from Texas to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, with empty promises of employment and housing, an antic that prompted investigations by county and federal authorities," Warren and Eisen wrote.
"Like Trump on steroids, DeSantis has advanced his political ambitions by attacking his opponents, playing to the lowest common denominator, engaging in political stunts and even violating the constitution. This should scare anyone who cares about free speech, the integrity of our elections or the rule of law—three fundamental values on which our nation is built."
Newsweek reached out to DeSantis' office via email for comment.
Warren and Eisen also described how DeSantis introduced a series of "speech-chilling legislation" such as the Parental Rights in Education bill, legislation DeSantis signed into law in March 2022 banning the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in certain grades at Florida schools. It has been dubbed the "Don't Say Gay bill."
The pair noted that DeSantis has also targeted businesses "who dare defy him," most notably Disney after the company objected to the bill.
The ongoing feud between Disney and the Florida governor saw DeSantis strip the company of its social privileges and tax breaks protected under the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which had allowed the company to essentially run as its own self-governing authority in Florida for more than 50 years.
DeSantis, who has long been considered the biggest challenger to Trump in the 2024 Republican primary, officially confirmed he's running for president in an online Twitter Space announcement plagued by technical difficulties.
"As the saying goes, 'When someone shows you who they are, believe them,'" Warren and Eisen wrote in their CNN piece, referring to a quote from poet Maya Angelou.
"As America struggles to overcome the divisiveness of the Trump era and to confront the challenges of tomorrow, we need representatives who embody our noblest qualities and core values, not those who sacrifice them for political expediency," they said.
"We need courageous leaders, not carnival barkers. DeSantis has shown us who he is with a track record that should alarm every Floridian—and every American. We should believe him."
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, and Florida ... Read more