3 big takeaways from Ron DeSantis’ Pennsylvania rally for Doug Mastriano

PITTSBURGH — Doug Mastriano’s campaign for governor in Pennsylvania landed Friday on its biggest stage so far, a Pittsburgh rally with Florida governor Ron DeSantis, a rising star in Republican politics and potential contender for president in 2024.

Still, Mastriano, a state senator from Franklin County endorsed just before the crowded May primary by former President Donald Trump, appeared to be a side-show in his own campaign stop.

Mastriano spoke for about 15 minutes, including three minutes when he handed the microphone to his wife, Rebbie, to speak about how conservatives approach women’s rights.

DeSantis, by contrast, spoke for about 42 minutes. And while it was clear he was there to support Mastriano, the bulk of that time was all about DeSantis as he accelerated through a two-day, four-state tour sponsored by the conservative nonprofit Turning Points Action.

With a big stage and a cheering audience, Mastriano didn’t try anything new Friday, sticking to the standard stump speech that he delivers on campaign stops across the state, right down to the handoff to his wife to talk about women.

Here are some other takeaways from Friday’s rally:

DeSantis uses “woke” like a four-letter word.

He derided parents and doctors for dealing with children questioning their gender, prosecutors who include criminal justice reform in their approach to crime, and any government action to prevent the spread of COVID-19 that required business closures, masking, or vaccination.

“This woke ideology is a really destructive mind virus,” DeSantis said. “We can’t just stand idly by while woke ideology ravages every institution in our society. We must fight the woke in our schools. We must fight the woke in our businesses. We must fight the woke in government agencies. We can never, ever surrender to woke ideology.”

DeSantis accused schools of attempting to “indoctrinate” children in that ideology, raising the popular conservative cry about “critical race theory,” a graduate-level academic course of study that studies how racism is embedded in institutions. That theory is not taught in Pennsylvania elementary or high schools, but conservatives use the term as a catch-all phrase for teachings on race and inclusion.

Mastriano has infused his campaign with rhetoric drawn from the Christian nationalism movement, while rejecting media reports about his comments as smears.

While speaking about elementary and high school curriculums, DeSantis linked civic education directly to religion.

“We have the responsibility to make sure that the students that come out of our school system understand what it means to be an American,” he said. “They need to understand that our rights come from God, not from the government.”

The crowd — a mix of Mastriano supporters, Trump fans, and DeSantis enthusiasts — roared with approval.

» READ MORE: Doug Mastriano’s 2018 comments on Islam and climate change resurface

He closed his speech with a call to action for the November election.

“So put on the full armor of God,” DeSantis said. “Take a stand against the left’s schemes, stand your ground, stand firm, don’t back down. We can do this.”

DeSantis touted the fight he picked with Disney after that corporation pushed back against legislation he signed — which critics call the Don’t’ Say Gay bill — that banned public school instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, as well as instruction that is not “age appropriate or developmentally appropriate.”

In response, DeSantis signed legislation undoing a special services district that has served as Disney’s own local government near Orlando for decades.

“You don’t have a right to force me or my citizens to subsidize your woke activism,” he said, not mentioning that the legislation is tied up in court or that taxpayers in neighboring counties around Walt Disney World would inherit about $1 billion in corporate debt due to the law.

» READ MORE: Ron DeSantis rallies with Doug Mastriano in Pittsburgh

DeSantis also bragged about legislation he signed that bans schools from teaching students about the history of societal privilege or oppression based on race or gender.

A federal judge on Thursday blocked that law, calling it an unconstitutional infringement on First Amendment rights — something DeSantis left out of his speech.