Casey DeSantis took her and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ three children on a short break from a very busy campaign day in Iowa by selecting a dozen ears of candy corn from a local vendor.
The first Florida couple also took their children Madison, six, Mason, five, and Mamie, three, to a park in Audubon, Iowa, to play on the swings and visit Albert, the world’s largest bull statue.
With six stops in six different Iowa cities in just one day on the Never Back Down PAC bus, by afternoon, Ron and Casey DeSantis were ready to give their young kids a break.
Mom got excited when she saw the bull statue while the two older kids let their parents push them on the swings in the playground.
Taking a break from a full day of campaigning, Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis gets her and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ three children to pick out a dozen ears of candy corn from an independent vendor parked outside a rest stop in Audubon, Iowa. From left: Madison DeSantis, six, Casey DeSantis, 43, Mamie DeSantis, three, and Mason DeSantis, five
After discussing retail policy at the rest stop, Florida’s first family took their three young children to a nearby park to play in the playground
Before the trip to the park, Casey took the kids to her husband’s retail visit at Waspy’s rest stop in Audubon, Iowa. There, a woman was selling corn cobs from her pickup truck that she and her husband were growing.
Florida’s First Lady let her children choose a dozen. All three kids loved learning how to peel corn and all, including Casey, took a bite out of the raw corn on the cob.
Meanwhile, DeSantis kept his mind on business while discussing his plans to make American energy independent with Iowans at the rest stop.
“All three kids are looking forward to the Iowa State Fair on Saturday,” DeSantis told caucus attendees who came to hear his stump and have their hats, baseball caps and books signed by the Florida governor.
“I love Oreos,” Mommy said shyly when her dad suggested that all five of them had to try the Oreo fried cookies at the county fair.
DeSantis’ Friday in Iowa got off to a rocky start when he and his wife Casey were greeted by protesters at his first stop of the day.
DeSantis was immediately confronted by two very vocal protesters at a large roadside stone painted for veterans in Menlo, Iowa, and tried his best to ignore their humiliating shouts, which urged him, “Go back to Florida, Pudding Fingers.”
Instead, he spoke about his commitment to helping the US military return to a “mission first” mentality. He said protesters at Melo Freedom Rock had no respect for veterans.
“Racist, fascist, anti-gay.” “Ron DeSantis, go away,” shouted Heather Ryan, 51, of Bondurant, Iowa, and Kara Ryan, 28, of Des Moines, Iowa, into a megaphone.
Ron and Casey DeSantis’ Iowa excursion on Friday got off to a rocky start when they were greeted by two loud hecklers at their first stop of a six-city tour
Dressed in all black, the two liberal protesters stood next to Freedom Rock in Menlo, Iowa, awaiting DeSantis’ arrival
The reference to the pudding fingers stems from a strange claim that DeSantis was seen eating pudding with his fingers when a spoon wasn’t available. Donand Trump picked up on these claims and included a line about DeSantis’ “dirty fingers” in one of his ads.
The Ryan ladies told they were briefed by TikTok on DeSantis’ very intimate stay in Menlo.
“They’re not even from this county and they come and they want to yell about other people,” DeSantis told the press while still being drowned out by the megaphone chants and the ringing of cowbells. “That’s not how we work.” And we want to lift people up, we want to achieve higher goals. “We want a country that can be reunited.”
“People like that are holding this country back,” he added. “People like these are the reason we lose as Americans because they have no respect for what these people who wear the uniform have done.” And they’re not about honoring the people who work for us got up and fought.”
“As the only veteran running for President, I can tell you that it matters to me.” It means a lot to me.’
Heather Ryan told that she thinks DeSantis is the devil.
“I protest against Satan,” Ryan said. “That’s what I’m protesting against.” He’s Satan.’
“I think he’s more dangerous than Trump because he’s smarter than Trump,” she added. “Trump is an idiot.” You know, Trump has a big personality, so I’m sure he’ll get the nomination. DeSantis has no personality – but he’s still dangerous.”
The protester shouted into a megaphone, “Racist, fascist, anti-gay.” “Ron DeSantis, go away,” as the PAC’s “Never Back Down” campaign bus pulled in at the first stop
“People like that are holding this country back.” “People like that are the reason we lose as Americans because they have no respect for what these people wearing the uniform have done,” DeSantis explained during the protests lasted
Heather Ryan, 51, of Bondurant, Iowa (right) and Kara Ryan, 28, of Des Moines, Iowa (left), told that they are protesting the “devil” and claiming DeSantis is “more dangerous” than Trump because he is “smarter” than the ex-president
Both Ryan ladies were dressed in all black and their shirts read “B****s get stuff done” in big white letters.
After the first stop, the rest of the day was otherwise smooth as Iowa crowds across the state greeted the governor and were charmed by his all-American family.
Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis took her three children, Madison, six, Mason, five, and Mamie, three, to buy some corn from a local vendor while her husband made the day’s fourth stop at a rest stop in Audubon with residents spoke of Iowa.
Afterwards, the children got even more peace with a visit to a park, where, full of anticipation, Mamie saw Albert, the largest bull statue in the world. Ron and Casey used the break to push their kids on swings in the park’s playground before heading back to stop #5.
Ron and Casey DeSantis gave their three kids a break from a busy campaign day by visiting a park in Audubon, Iowa
DeSantis & Co. are storming Iowa this week ahead of their performance at the State Fair on Saturday.
The nation’s first primary caucus state will invite nearly all presidential candidates to talk about the “political soapbox,” sit down for a “fairside chat” with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, mingle with the attendees, and charm the caucus-goers by turning their heads, eat some burgers or sample unique foods.
The only 2024 candidates not appearing at the show are former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and President Joe Biden, who is running for re-election. Biden faces two Democratic contenders, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Marianne Williamson, both coming to Iowa over the weekend.
DeSantis took off from the capital city of Des Moines on Friday morning and made the first stop of the day at Freedom Rock in Menlo, where DeSantis was the first to greet him.
He then encountered a much more welcoming crowd at Downtown’s Family Restaurant in Atlantic, then stopped at an American Legion in Harlan before making a quick pit stop at Audubon’s truck stop.
The day ended with a very brief visit to a Windstar Lines Charter Bus Company location in front of its town hall in Panora, Iowa.