Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis highlights his presidential agenda during speech at annual Tennessee Republican dinner

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis stopped in Nashville Saturday night to give a keynote speech at the 44th Annual Statesman’s Dinner. The Republican fundraiser has boasted big names in the party in the past, but for DeSantis, this worked as a chance to give state lawmakers his presidential campaign speech.

He opened his keynote taking a dig at President Joe Biden.

“I’m excited because 2024 is our opportunity to send Joe Biden back to his basement in Delaware, where he belongs,” said DeSantis.

DeSantis used most of his speech to talk about stopping Democrats and what he called “wokeness” from taking over the country.

He touted his signing of a bill that banned teachers from holding classroom instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity in Florida. Disney was openly against what opponents called the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

“When you’re siding with woke corporations over your own constituency, that is not going to win elections,” DeSantis said. “It’s not the morally right thing to do. We have to draw a line in the sand when it comes to our children.”

DeSantis hasn’t announced who his running mate would be. But before heading to Nashville, he was in Iowa, where he told reporters he would consider that state’s governor, Kim Reynolds, as a possible vice president pick.

At the event, several attendees wore Trump 2024 stickers, showing their allegiance with the former president. A recent poll shows most people favor Trump over DeSantis. The former president holds a 20-point lead over the Florida governor.