What Did Ron DeSantis Say When Asked If One of Children Was Gay or Trans?

Presidential candidate Ron DeSantis waxed on and on about parental rights in an interview with Time Magazine, in part because his struggling campaign is in serious need of an issue and he wanted to talk to Time about why he believes being the "parents' candidate" will boost his political prospects.

"Framing it all a crusade for 'parents' rights' is a neat trick politically, highlighting a throwback, traditionalist view of what used to be termed 'family values,' but with a very 2023 culture-war spin," Time writes. "'Kids should be kids – there shouldn't be an agenda,' he tells me. 'I didn't feel like there was an agenda when I was growing up.'"

But "when I ask how he'll respond if one of his children turns out to be gay or trans," Time writes, "his eyes flash momentarily, and he swiftly shuts down the question. 'Well, my children are my children,' DeSantis says. 'We'll leave that – we'll leave that between my wife and I.'"

"DeSantis has relied on criticizing other candidates for supporting the LGBTQ community during his campaign, having video ads be called 'homophobic' and campaigning against Pride Month," writes the news site The Messenger. "The Florida governor is also known for his state's anti-LGBTQ laws, such as the 'Don't Say Gay' law, which prompted a legal battle between DeSantis and Disney."

In the Time Interview, he spoke of his role as dad. "As a father, DeSantis says, he's not the primary disciplinarian in the family, but he's capable of bringing the hammer down when needed. "I'm kind of the good guy most of the time – I bring the presents, I bring treats, especially when I'm on the road," he tells me. "Day to day, Casey does more of the disciplining. But when I step in, and I do, if I'm a little stern, they snap into shape. I do that more rarely. But when things get out of hand, you kind of just lay the law down, and they respond to it. So I would say that they do respect the paternal influence."

He continued: "As a parent right now, I can't take my six-year-old daughter and get her a tattoo, even if I want to do that. You don't have the right to do things that are going to be destructive to kids. I think that some of these parents are being told by physicians who are making a lot of money off this that you have to do this, otherwise your kid can end up doing something like commit suicide. I think that they get bullied into thinking this is the right decision. It is, totally appropriate for us to say that protection of children means that those things are not appropriate."

But, Time adds: "DeSantis's attempt to personalize these issues has limits. When I ask how he was parented, he talks about where his parents were from – Youngstown, Ohio, and Aliquippa, Penn. – but says nothing about them as people. When I ask whether his view of the primacy of family comes from his faith, he responds in generalities rather than give a window into his personal spirituality. 'My marriage and family, that's just something that I always envisioned that would happen, and that's been something that's been very, very positive for me as a person,' he says."