Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appeared to take a veiled shot at former President Donald Trump on Friday as the two Republican heavyweights fight it out for the party’s 2024 presidential nomination.

Speaking at the Moms For Liberty summit in Philadelphia, DeSantis spoke with a sense of urgency about some of the initiatives the political Left is pursuing across the country, especially as it relates to exposing young children to graphic sexual material and agendas.

“And this has gone on across this country for far too long,” DeSantis said. “2024 is the time to put up or shut up. No more excuses about why we can’t win against the Left; no more excuses about why you didn’t do what you said you would do. The time to act is now, and I believe if we do it right, 2024 is going to be the year when the parents across this country finally fight back.”

“Now it can be done, because I can tell you in Florida, we have shown what winning looks like,” he added. “We have beat the Left on issue after issue after issue. And we were able to deliver the greatest Republican electoral triumph in our state’s history in November of 2022. This can happen nationally. We will win these battles all across the nation.”

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PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT:

RON DESANTIS, GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA (R): When I see events like they had in New York City where they’re chanting, some drag queen, “we are coming for your kids.” Let me tell you something, you start messing with our kids, we’ve got problems. And I think what we’ve seen across this country in recent years has awaken the most powerful political force in this country, mama bears. And they’re ready to roll. And we’ve done so much on these issues in Florida, and I will do all this as the next President, but I see the issue not just through the lens of a Governor or presidential candidate, I see these issues through the lens of a dad of a six, a five and a three-year-old. And my wife and I really believe that parents in this country should be able to send their kids to school, should be able to let them watch cartoons, or just be kids without having some agenda shoved down their throat.

And this has gone on across this country for far too long. 2024 is the time to put up or shut up. No more excuses about why we can’t win against the Left; no more excuses about why you didn’t do what you said you would do. The time to act is now and I believe if we do it right, 2024 is going to be the year when the parents across this country finally fight back.

Now it can be done, because I can tell you in Florida, we have shown what winning looks like. We have beat the Left on issue after issue after issue. And we were able to deliver the greatest Republican electoral triumph in our state’s history in November of 2022. This can happen nationally. We will win these battles all across the nation. And we will make sure that this country, not just the Free State of Florida, but the entire United States stands for the rights of parents and for the well-being of our children.

Now in Florida, we didn’t just give lip service to this, because it’s very easy to do that, people talk and then you never see follow up. We have enacted a Parent’s Bill of Rights in the state of Florida because we understand that the purpose of our school systems are to support the communities, to support students, and parents; it is not to supersede the rights of parents. Parents, parents have a fundamental right to direct the education and upbringing of their children and that means being involved in what is being taught in their school. It also means that every parent in this country should be able to have the wherewithal to send their kid to the school of their choice. We’ve made that a reality in Florida. We’ve signed Universal Education Savings Account legislation so the money will follow the student and the parent and you’re in a situation where you can make intelligent decisions. And what we’ve done in Florida has worked.

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This article was published by The Daily Wire and is reproduced with permission.