Ron DeSantis in 2024 CNN Town Hall

On Tax Reform: Eliminate the IRS; have a single rate and just a flat tax

I understand the importance of agriculture for our country. It's not just an economic issue, food security is a national security issue. And I think we're more secure and better when we have family farms that are viable and that can pass that down from generation to generation. I don't want everything to be massive corporations. We need to eliminate the death tax on these family farms so that they can pass it down without getting taxed.

On Budget & Economy: Line-item veto and Balanced Budget Amendment

DeSANTIS: In Florida, we have paid down 25% of our state's total debt. Our budget--even though we have millions of more people than New York, our budget is half the size of New York state's budget.

Q: Are you willing to make balance budgeting mandatory?

DeSANTIS: Look, this is a problem, we have to be honest as Republicans. It has not just been the Democrats. Both parties have spent and borrowed and printed money, particularly since COVID. They went on a massive printing and spending binge. You need a president that is going to be a force for more restrained spending. That means you've got to be willing to use your veto pen. In Florida, I have a line-item veto; I think that would be good for the president. I vetoed 3% of the budget one year. That's part of the reason we were able to pay down debt in the state of Florida. I do think we should have a balanced budget requirement in the United States Constitution.

On Civil Rights: DE&I is discrimination, exclusion, and indoctrination

DeSANTIS: Well, the U.S. is not a racist country, and we've overcome things in our history. I think the founding fathers established a set of principles that are universal. Now they may not have been universally applied at the time but I think they understood that those principles would be the engine for progress for generations to come.

Q: Is the Republican Party a racist party?

DeSANTIS: I think the Republican Party stands for merit and achievement and colorblindness. In Florida, I've eliminated things at our universities like this DE&I. They say it's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, but it's really very ideological. I think the way it's actually practiced, it stands for discrimination, exclusion, and indoctrination. And it's wrong. Let's not divvy people up based on race, ethnicity, or gender. Let's treat people as individuals, not as members of group.

On Education: Make universities back federal student loans

A degree from a 4-year brick-and-Ivy university is one way you can be successful. It's not the only way. We need to tell young people that there are multiple pathways, including work force education & the skilled trades.

On Families & Children: No tax on diapers or cribs or any baby items

DeSANTIS: The American dream is slipping away from people. There are people that are working hard, getting the most out of their God-given ability, doing everything they can to put food on the table, to raise their families, and they are falling further and further behind. I think government's role--in Florida, we've taken steps to help families. For example, we eliminated all sales tax on every baby item. So, you're raising babies tax-free in the state of Florida -- no tax on diapers, wipes, cribs, strollers, none of that. [On the child tax credit], I can't speak to the specifics of that bill, but my view on economics is: hard work has to pay off in this country. And if we can get that where people are getting ahead, we're going to be able to reinvigorate the American dream.

On Homeland Security: Veterans issues on front burner, but outside the VA

DeSANTIS: 9/11 happened. We were in conflict. And I felt that I should raise my hand and serve. I volunteered to go to Iraq. And I learned a lot about what veterans go through. And I'm going to put veteran issues on the front burner as commander-in-chief.

Q: What do you plan to do about the lackluster performance of the Veterans Administration?

DeSANTIS: What we're going to do is recognize that the V.A. is a massive bureaucracy. I'm going to fire people that aren't doing a good job. We're going to bring accountability. But we're also going to harness all the resources that are outside of government. And this is a model we've used in Florida. And we're going to use it for veterans. So we have something called the CarePortal. We recruit military groups, charities, churches, businesses, individuals. So you go to the V.A., you need something, maybe the V.A. helps you, but that immediately goes out to all these organizations.

On Immigration: Remain in Mexico; no benefit from military-age males

DeSANTIS: It's not limited to just what's coming from Biden, but we're going to start there and go through that. So, obviously, all of them that we can do there. You have millions more people coming in. That puts the screws on the housing. So, you have to enforce the law. We're going to definitely start with those Biden folks because I think it was reckless that he led all these people in illegally. It's not just people coming from Mexico or Central America. Yes, there's a lot from a hundred different countries--China, Middle Eastern countries, Russia. And you know what a lot of it is? Military age males. Do you think that's going to be a benefit for this country to have those folks coming in that we know nothing about? I think it's a security risk and we need to act.

On Immigration: Shipping migrants to Martha's Vineyard made it a news issue

DeSANTIS: If you go back to September 2022, how was the border being treated? It was not at front-burner issue. The problems were real, but it wasn't getting the type of scrutiny that it needed. Martha's Vineyard said they were sanctuary jurisdiction. They said "all people are welcome, whether they're legal or not." These border towns in Texas are getting thousands and thousands. Martha's Vineyard couldn't even handle 50. But this was something that the media really glommed onto. So it ended up raising the temperature on this, and now you have this being discussed everywhere. So I don't think it was cheap at all. We banned sanctuary cities in Florida. As president, I'm not going to allow sanctuary states or sanctuary cities in this country. They're violating the law.

On War & Peace: Hold military leaders accountable for Afghanistan debacle

DESANTIS: I don't support a draft. Our recruiting is at the lowest level since the end of the Vietnam War when they got rid of the draft. I think the way you solve that problem is to inspire young people to want to join. I do think when they see commander-in-chief hold the brass accountable, because no one's been held accountable for Afghanistan, not one person has been held accountable for one of the worst military debacles in American history. When they see us getting rid of some of the social stuff and the woke ideology, saying, "no, it's about mission first," and you're going to be promoted based on merit, that, I think, inspires people to want to join. You know, when you join the military, you want to know that the people in charge of both the civilian and military levels are only going to pursue the mission. And they're not going to let these other considerations cloud that out.