Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida on Monday released a campaign advertisement drawing on the movie franchise Top Gun to attack the news media.
The ad is the latest stunt by DeSantis to promote far-right talking points before Tuesday’s statewide primary and a possible future run for the Oval Office in 2024.
In the parody, posted to Twitter, DeSantis wears a bomber jacket similar to outfits worn by the Top Gun star Tom Cruise in the franchise’s two films and discusses “taking on the corporate media” in an airbase.
“The rules of engagement are as follows: number one – don’t fire unless fired upon, but when they fire, you fire back with overwhelming force,” DeSantis says in the video. “Number two – never ever back down from a fight. Number three – don’t accept their narrative.”
DeSantis also dons a helmet with the logo “Top Gov”.
The ad is intercut with a reel of DeSantis at previous news conferences and other events where he accuses journalists of “peddling false narratives”.
In addition to attacking members of the press, DeSantis has embraced almost all conservative social issues in his quest to gain prominence among Republicans ahead of a potential 2024 presidential run.
DeSantis has largely aimed his efforts at Florida’s education system, promoting Republicans on local school boards and signing bills that censor classroom material.
Ahead of Tuesday’s primary race, DeSantis launched a statewide tour promoting 29 hand-picked candidates for non-partisan school board positions that support his education platform.
He signed a law in March criminalizing discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida classrooms. The “don’t say gay” bill is a policy that critics overwhelmingly say further marginalizes LGBTQ+ communities.
Last year, the governor took further aim at trans girls and women, banning their participation from sports in public schools and universities, with critics calling the law “cruel” and “horrific”.
After the signing of that bill, Florida became the eighth state in the US to ban trans people from athletic events in schools, reported CNN.
DeSantis has also severely restricted race education in Florida, signing a measure in April that bans teachers from instructing on certain topics around race and ethnicity.
“We believe in education, not indoctrination,” DeSantis said during an April press conference.
DeSantis also supported the banning of books, including mathematic textbooks, arguing that textbook manufacturers were “indoctrinating” children.
He has also sought to curb abortion rights in the Sunshine state.
After the US supreme court overturning Roe v wade in June, DeSantis supported a 15-week abortion ban in Florida that was contested and later reinstated.
On 4 August, the governor suspended an elected state prosecutor who promised not to enforce the near-total ban, arguing that the elected official was violating his oath of office.
DeSantis like other Republican candidates has also moved to investigate election fraud, a priority stemming from former president Donald Trump’s false claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
Studies have shown that voter fraud is rare, usually happening in isolated instances and generally detected.
But in April, the governor established a police force to prosecute voter fraud, with officials arresting and charging 20 people with previous felony convictions for voting illegally despite complexities around voting eligibility after a conviction.
