Ron DeSantis (2024-2032)

Ron DeSantis, 48th President of the United States

**Ron DeSantis** was a former governor of Florida, and the 48th President of the United States. He is notable for rolling back many left wing reforms, and being president during the start of America's 5th Great Awakening. He is largely considered the successor to Trump's populism. Where Trump got the ball rolling, DeSantis would end up being the one who finished it. He would end up reshaping the entire Republican coalition in his image, finishing the Trumpian takeover which had been boiling ever since 2016.

## Background

First successfully winning an election in the House of Representatives, DeSantis would then successfully run as governor of Florida. It was here he made a name for himself, embracing hardline populist conservative positions, and positioning himself as a friend of the growing Trumpist movement. This came to a head when he opposed lockdown orders and various COVID restrictions during the 2019 Coronavirus Pandemic. In 2028, he announced his candidacy for the Republican primaries, and despite contemplating running himself, Trump ended up endorsing DeSantis, giving him an early lead in the primaries and leading to an early victory for DeSantis.

Around this time, Kamala Harris was facing a divided party as the progressives threatened to throw the election if Harris refused to accept their demands. This would result in a great vote-splitting on the left, which would eventually cost them the election. And Ron DeSantis was elected 48th president of the United States.

## Presidency

The DeSantis presidency was marked by an escalation in the culture wars, and his administration largely focused on cultural and social issues, as opposed to economic ones. DeSantis attempted to get the economy back up and running through tax cuts, and opening more trade with NATO allies such as Canada, the United Kingdom and what was left of Western Europe, using the American navy to patrol those sea lanes. Despite hefty promises to do so, DeSantis's reforms were not enough to get the American economy running, though they did improve under his administration. In light of this, he pivoted the public's attention away from the economic woes by escalating the culture wars.

The right's full blown culture war against digitalization, against Silicon Valley, and against the rapid development of technology was leading to the De-Digitalization Movement, with technology just becoming another front in the culture wars. Despite this, the public was by all means siding with the right, having grown sick of digital technology's stranglehold on their daily lives. The backlash led to a surge in open source as well as DIY culture, a rejection of smart appliances, and a return to a more simple way of life. This was also around the time that bot-networks were becoming overwhelming, and had completely overrun the large social media platforms. DeSantis was responsible for the large-scale breakups of Silicon Valley, taking them to court on the basis of anti-competitive practices, and starting to crack down on those who were not perceived to "allow free speech". Many tech companies had ceased saying anything political, fearing the wrath of a belligerent DeSantis administration.

DeSantis also employed a "drain the swamp" strategy, rooting out pockets of liberal influence within the federal bureaucracy and replacing them with Republican loyalists. Nothing was more controversial however than his total war against the LGBT community, which stoked the culture wars harder than any event previously. Laying down the framework for what would later become known as "patriotic education", he enforced a common curriculum of American history and American civic education. He banned schools from giving LGBT education to anyone under the age of 15, and using his majority in Congress, banned transitioning nationwide with a federal law. More popular among the populists, he passed a law mandating voter ID for all voting in the coming 2028 elections.

This saw a large exodus of the LGBT community outside of the United States, becoming increasingly convinced that the country was no longer going to accept them, many of them fled north to Canada. Though DeSantis received much praise from the right wing elements of society, parents groups, and the rising Awakening movement, which would eventually ignite what would become the 5th Great Awakening.

The economy slowly improved as he entered his second term. He lost his majority in Congress in the 2026 Midterms, though gained it back during the 2028 general, in large part because of the new voter ID laws depressing turnout from traditionally Democratic groups. He would continue to oversee the compliance and alignment of Big Tech, and pushing the De-Digitalization movement, though it was now dying down as Americans had shifted away from social media. The Chinese economy had surpassed the size of the American one in 2029, leading to DeSantis spending more effort containing China.

During these times, the United States increased cooperation with its East Asian allies, selling them more weapons in preparation for a possible confrontation with China. Intelligence about warming relations between Russia and China prompted the administration to increase defense spending. DeSantis pestered his European allies constantly about increasing their defense spending, to no avail. DeSantis would end his term after his ideological successor was beaten by Democrat Kevin Buchanan in the 2032 elections.