(NewsNation) —As former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign gains momentum, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is doubling down on strong Republican talking points such as abortion and guns.
DeSantis spoke Friday at the Heritage Foundation’s 50th Anniversary Leadership Summit in Maryland. The governor, whom some anti-Trump Republicans have pegged as a possible presidential option, hasn’t officially announced plans to run.
A recent Ipsos/Reuters poll found that Republican and independent voters overwhelmingly favored Trump over DeSantis, 58% to 21%.
The former president earned $4 million in donations alone following his indictment in the hush money case involving adult film actress Stormy Daniels and the 2016 election, The Associated Press reported.
Addressing the crowd Friday, DeSantis reminded voters that he recently signed a bill banning abortions after six weeks and defended the right to carry a firearm.
“You shouldn’t need a permission slip to be able to exercise your Second Amendment freedoms,” he said.
The governor was quick to highlight an issue unique to his platform: an ongoing battle with Disney.
“Disney was enjoying unprecedented privileges and subsidies,” DeSantis said. “They control their own government in Central Florida, they were exempt from the laws that virtually everybody else had to follow. They had tax breaks; they were even able to rack up debt. No single entity or individual in the state of Florida enjoys such privileges.”
Trump has seized on DeSantis’ friction with Disney, however. In a memo obtained by Politico, the Trump campaign urged donors to support him. Trump also has slammed DeSantis over his fight with Disney, calling it “a political stunt.”