Gov. DeSantis sits down for interview with Ben Shapiro

The Daily Wire released a one-on-one interview Sunday with Gov. Ron DeSantis and conservative pundit Ben Shapiro.

Filmed inside the Governor’s Office, DeSantis and Shapiro explored a variety of issues — COVID-19, corporate activism, media bias and immigration, among others.

Florida State University hosted Shapiro late Monday for a sold-out speaking event. He was seen touring the Florida Capitol Building prior to the event.

A former California resident, Shapiro relocated to Florida amid the pandemic. He is critical of California’s handling of the pandemic and the state’s left-leaning politics.

Shapiro is among the leading conservative voices in the nation. 

“The first day we walk off the plane its not over run with homeless people, I don’t see people shooting heroin into their feet in front of my children, I don’t see rioters in the streets,” Shapiro said of Florida. “I make it sound like a dystopian hell hole, California, but that’s only because its become increasingly like a dystopian hell hole in major cities.”

The interview comes as DeSantis generates buzz as a 2024 presidential contender. A frequent Fox News guest, the first-term governor rose into stardom for his approach to the pandemic.

Most recently, DeSantis signed a slew of legislation thwarting the federal government’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The state is also litigating the order.

The issue of mandates is among the latest dust ups between President Joe Biden and DeSantis. To the ire of state Democrats, DeSantis has fashioned himself a fighter of what he calls government overreach. Critics, meanwhile, chalk up the behavior as political theater.

DeSantis is also a vocal critic of “corporate media.” In the interview, he bashed news media as “untethered” to the truth and “highly partisan.”

“Republicans have to understand: Don’t try to get these people to like you,” DeSantis said. “That’s not what they’re going to do. You’ve got to understand what their role is.”

A link to the interview is featured below.