Today, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement released their yearly report detailing the costs associated with providing protection for Governor Ron DeSantis. The numbers show that from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023, Florida taxpayers spent more than $8 million transporting and protecting the Governor, with total costs reaching more than $9.4 million, a 58% increase over the previous year.
This jump in costs comes as the Governor spent the early part of this year on a nationwide tour to sell his book, which was described as something that “reads like a politician’s memoir churned out by ChatGPT” and for which he was paid a more than $1 million advance, has been attending numerous fundraisers all over the country, and continues his failing campaign for president.
In response, DeSantis Watch Communications Director Anders Croy issued the following statement:
“While Ron DeSantis collected more than a million dollars to write a book and criss-crossed the country begging billionaires and the corporate elite for checks ahead of his presidential campaign, it was Florida taxpayers who paid the cost while he traveled in support of his political ambitions. Now, as the Governor continues to flame out in his failing run for president, it is Floridians who are continuing to subsidize his trips to Iowa and New Hampshire while they struggle to pay the bills in the most unaffordable state in the nation. If Ron DeSantis wants to spend all his time promoting himself instead of doing his job, he should ask those same big money donors to reimburse the people of Florida for the cost of this disastrous vanity tour that has made him a millionaire while workers and seniors pick up the tab.”