A super PAC supporting Ron DeSantis' campaign for president is promoting the governor's "war on woke."
Never Back Down's new spot shows DeSantis as an uncompromising fighter in a battle that he is "winning."
"Woke is an existential threat to our society," DeSantis says in the 30-second video. "I mean, it's an attack on truth. It's a form of cultural Marxism."
A narrator then credits DeSantis with "protecting children from mutilation and indoctrination. Standing up to woke corporations as the governor is seen signing a 'Florida ban on transgender treatment for minors' and criticizing 'woke' Disney."
Women's sports activist Riley Gaines, a DeSantis supporter who appeared before a Senate Judiciary Hearing on transgender rights last week, is then heard saying, "He's drawn a line and he said, 'enough is enough.' "
"Ron DeSantis is fearless, fighting for our kids, fighting for our values and winning," the narrator continues. "That's the conservative road map for America. Never back down."
During a speech Friday at the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference in Washington, D.C., DeSantis slammed wokeness in the economy, and in the education and criminal justice systems.
"When 'woke' overtakes our criminal justice system — like it has in San Francisco, like it has in Los Angeles — the average person becomes less safe in their communities as a result," DeSantis told the conference attendees.
"Don't tell me it doesn't affect people's lives. I was just in San Francisco. I saw — in 20 minutes on the ground — people defecating on the sidewalk. I saw people using fentanyl. I saw people smoking crack right there in the open, right there on the street. It was a civilization in decay."
NBC News poll results Sunday showed that former President Donald Trump has expanded his lead on DeSantis and the rest of the GOP primary field to 29 points, nearly doubling his 15-point lead in April.
Fox News reported that Never Back Down will spend more than $1 million to air its campaign ad in Iowa and South Carolina, two states where surveys show DeSantis struggling. Trump leads on average by more than 20 points in both states.
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