As governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis has turned the state into a conservative wet dream. He’s worked diligently to create a haven for what the GOP perceives as the most persecuted group in America—you know, white fundamentalist Christians. He’s attacked every marginalized group to ensure conservatives’ delicate sensibilities are not ruffled by other Americans trying to live their lives.
This week Ron DeSantis is expected to announce his official campaign for president in the 2024 election. After working to change Florida law to allow him to run for other offices while still governor, it isn’t surprising news. Although we don’t have DeSantis’s official campaign slogan yet, one organization has already taken a line from one of his speeches and ran with it. There are flags and hats with one of the worst slogans to grace our political landscape: “Make America Florida.”
Let’s not promote any more Florida-ness
This slogan is trying to give failed 2020 presidential candidate Donald Trump’s slogan a facelift. Instead of making America great (whatever that means), he wants America to be as awful as Florida. The other 49 states have long used Florida as the punchline for jokes. But it isn’t so hilarious anymore. New Florida laws become bleaker by the day. Laws such as being subjected to a genital inspection when you use a public bathroom. From attacks on trans people to restricting access to books and barring educators from accurately teaching the history of America, Florida is a shining example of how we don’t want our country to be. Things have gotten so bad there that the NAACP issued a travel warning for the state.
Besides imagining the United States as one giant Florida nightmare, the logo with the slogan is also pretty bad. Under the large “DeSantis 2024” print, there is a stylized version of “Make America Florida.” The “F” in Florida has been changed to look like the shape of the state itself. Oh, so clever. Except for when you see it from far away, the shape looks less like a state and more like a gun pointed at the hat wearer’s head.
After skimming reactions on Twitter, I’m not the only one who immediately saw this. Part of me thinks it is something the designers overlooked or didn’t realize. But who knows, maybe it was on purpose. Sometimes it does feel like the Republican party is holding us all hostage with a gun pointed at our heads while they shout their ridiculous demands. The slogan and the questionable design choice might end up being DeSantis’s official campaign slogan, or it might not be. However, it is easy to see how his followers would unironically view it as a great message and buy the merchandise to fuel his campaign. It may come off as laughable and out of touch. Yet it is also a giant red flag of what the GOP wants for all of us.
(featured image: 20th Television Animation)
