Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says he grew up in a household where his parents were "very clear" about his obligations: "Do well in school, make sure you're in church every Sunday, make sure you're working around the house. You're not going to get anything handed to you."
DeSantis, who recently announced his bid for the 2024 presidential race, in a wide-ranging interview with CBN News said that philosophy was reinforced in his Catholic grade school.
"I think, by and large, I liked it," DeSantis told CBS. "But again, I think the things that I didn't like about it were because they were doing the right thing by making sure that we were disciplined. You would pray every day but some of the nuns were very strict about what your obligations were. And again, as a young kid, maybe not the most fun at the time, but I think was the right approach.
"I always believed that it doesn't matter where you start. If you put that nose to the grindstone and work hard, God has a plan for you and you can do well in this country."
To this day, DeSantis credits his faith for keeping him grounded. He said his family is a "Christ-centered household" and that he and wife, Casey DeSantis, are "raising our kids with those values."
"We think that that's very important. ... It's great for us when our kids are coming back from preschool or kindergarten, talking about David and Goliath and we're like, 'Thank you.' So, we're very, very appreciative of being able to do that.
"My son, he was 4 for Christmas this year, he wanted a sling to be like David slaying Goliath, and so that really warms our hearts when we see that."
DeSantis also spoke about Florida's pro-life heartbeat law and suggested former President Donald Trump, the GOP front-runner, was soft on abortion.
"I was really surprised because he's a Florida resident and I thought he would complement the fact that we were able to do the heartbeat bill, which pro-lifers have wanted for a long time," DeSantis said. "He never complimented, never said anything about it. Then he was asked about it and he said it was 'harsh.'"
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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