TAMPA -- Governor DeSantis offered his opinion on a wide range of topics during an appearance in Tampa Monday.
The governor denounced the results of Sunday's elections in Venezuela. The electoral board declared president Nicolas Maduro the winner with 51 percent of the vote, but without releasing local vote totals to help substantiate the claim. DeSantis says the hopes of Venezuelans for a better government were dashed by a corrupt regime. The governor pointed at the Biden administration, saying it made a mistake by weakening sanctions enacted against Venezuela by the Trump administration.
DeSantis also weighed in on President Biden's proposal to overhaul the U.S. Supreme Court by creating 18-year term limits for justices. DeSantis says that term limits could backfire on Democrats by forcing future liberal justices out of office.
Unlike the U.S. Supreme Court, the Florida Supreme Court has retention elections as well as an age limit for justices. DeSantis says the framers of the Florida Constitution are not in line with the precepts of the Founding Fathers in favor of lifetime judicial appointments.
DeSantis also offered his thoughts on the Paris Olympics opening ceremony, saying it was "a symbol of the decline of Western civilization." It included a drag queen performance that appeared to refrence DaVinci's painting of the Last Supper. Catholic bishops and others have condemned the performance, including the bishop of the Pensacola-Tallahassee diocese. The artistic director of the opening now insists the Last Supper painting was not his inspiration, while Paris organizers have issued an apology "if people have taken offense."
The governor and first lady Casey DeSantis were at the Tampa Bay History Center to hand out checks for churches supporting the Hope Florida program, which uses facilitators to unite private resources with families in need.
Photo: Getty Images