2024 Presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis hosted an event Friday at Toppling Goliath in Decorah

Prospective Republican presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stopped at Toppling Goliath Brewing Co. in Decorah Friday morning for a meet and greet event as part of his Never Back Down bus tour through Winneshiek County, Black Hawk County, Tama County and Poweshiek County in Iowa. The 108 pre-registered attendees at the event included folks from Iowa and Wisconsin. Iowa State Senator Mike Klimesh (R-District 28) welcomed attendees and thanked them for coming. He spoke briefly about the American Dream before introducing Mr. DeSantis. "I am very privileged today to endorse and introduce Governor Ron DeSantis who has introduced his ten-point plan to economic independence and those ten points will put America back on the path to greatness and allow us to once again realize that American Dream," Klimesh said. "I'm proud to introduce the next President of the United States of America and his family, Governor Ron DeSantis." The governor then took the small stage in the taproom with his wife, Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis, and their three young children. Mr. DeSantis began his speech by thanking Mr. Klimesh for his endorsement and praising the Iowa state government. "I think Florida and Iowa are two [states] that are very well governed and know we are proud of that and you should be proud of that," Mr. DeSantis said before shifting focus to his mission to claim the Presidency and "send Joe Biden back to his basement in Delaware." He then made general comments about his background including connecting his roots to blue-collar workers, like his steel-worker grandfather, who, Mr. DeSantis said, could rely on their "God-given talents" and hard work to achieve the American dream. "Listen, our country is in decline. This is not something that's inevitable," Mr. DeSantis said. "This is something that is a choice. It's a choice we're going to make over the next 18 months as a people. We can't be satisfied with just managing the decline of this country a little bit better than the Democrats. And I'm running for President because we need to reverse the decline of the country." He continued with a rallying call to fellow Republicans. "The time for excuses for Republicans is over," Mr. DeSantis said. "You have to get the job done this time. And finally, in order to do that, we need to have a vision, you need to have leadership. And you need to have the courage to do what's right when it's not easy." In his nearly hour-long speech, Mr. DeSantis addressed his campaign policy agenda and made many promises as to what he would do on day one in office if elected. He spoke about the need to reduce spending and the need to increase energy independence in the U.S. and, more broadly, independence from China. Mr. DeSantis addressed education and the need for more individuals to get workforce education and tangible skills in order to build a bigger industrial base in the country. He also spoke of his intention to shift student loan debt from the federal government to colleges and universities. He then turned to immigration and his plan to declare a national emergency on day one, if elected, to build a border wall and to use the U.S. military and border patrol to eliminate drug cartels and treat them as foreign terrorist organizations. Mr. DeSantis concluded his speech by making points related to ushering in "an era of accountability" in Washington particularly related to COVID-19 policies and mandates, to remove "all the politicization from the military," and the need to re-constitutionalize the government. He then invited Mrs. DeSantis onto the stage to speak for a few minutes. Mrs. DeSantis spoke about her passion for protecting children and protecting the rights of parents. Specifically, she addressed "Mamas for DeSantis," her grassroots effort begun in Florida to rally more than one million mothers and grandmothers to support her husband's campaign, and the support she's received from Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds. "We are fired up," Mrs. DeSantis said. "It is one thing when you come after us with your policies as moms and grandmas. It is another thing when you go after our children. They are not your children, they're ours – back off." Mr. DeSantis came back to the stage to answer a few audience questions before heading on to Homestead Dairy in Waukon, Iowa. Audience members asked questions about support for school choice, mental health aid for veterans, the connection between gun violence and mental health, and questions related to former President Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris, and California Governor Gavin Newsom. One audience member, a gentleman whose stepfather has owned and run their small family farm for his entire lifetime and has to also work a full-time job to keep it all going, asked Mr. DeSantis if elected, how he would help small family farmers in Iowa keep their farms or start farms if they wanted to do so. Mr. DeSantis responded that he agreed that small family farms are an important part of American culture and American society and that one of the things that he will do if elected, would be to reduce governmental restrictions on those farms. "You know, I don't think like if you pass your farm down to the next generation, you shouldn't have to pay a tax on that," Mr. DeSantis said. "It's land like, it's not like this is money in a bank account. So we would, you know, I mean, I don't think that there should be any type of death tax for family farms at all, it should be zero, and you should be able to keep it in the family. I think big government contributes to big corporations having an upper hand against the little guy." Mr. DeSantis concluded the meet and greet by thanking attendees and asking for their support in 2024. "Here's the thing – at the end of the day, if this election of 2024 is focused on [President Joe] Biden's failures and our positive vision to restore America and reverse the decline of this country, we are going to win and we are going to win big." James Smith of La Crosse, Wisconsin spoke with DecorahNews.com as he, his wife, and their three young kids packed up to head home after the event. Smith had taken a half-day off of work to see Mr. DeSantis speak and was impressed by the candidate. "He was already my candidate going in and he certainly didn't do anything to ruin that, so he is still my candidate," Smith said.