DeSantis Enters the Presidential Race

Ron DeSantis announced this week what many have suspected for quite a while: He’s running to become the Republican nominee for president in 2024.

The Florida governor, who was reelected to that position in November, launched his presidential campaign in a Twitter Spaces livestream that had more than a few technical difficulties. He later sat down for a prime-time interview with former Rep. Trey Gowdy on Fox News.

A team of four FactCheck.org staffers reviewed his remarks.

We found that he exaggerated claims about his record, such as when he said that Florida “eliminated critical race theory.” There is little or no evidence that it was being taught in public schools.

In addition, he made distorted claims while attacking the Biden administration, like when he blamed "woke ideology" for the military's recruitment struggles. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said a 2022 survey found that was "relatively low on the list of barriers to service."

We also wrote about claims he made about crime, abortion, book bans and climate change.

Read the full story, "FactChecking Ron DeSantis' Presidential Announcement."

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Wrapping Up

Here's what else we've got for you this week:

• "FactChecking Tim Scott’s Presidential Campaign Announcement": Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina announced on May 22 that he will seek the Republican nomination for president in 2024. We reviewed his speech — and an exclusive NBC News interview he did shortly after — and found that he made a few claims that were false, misleading or lacked important context.
• "Young Children Do Not Receive Medical Gender Transition Treatment": Families seeking information from a health care provider about a young child’s gender identity may have their questions answered or receive counseling. Some posts share a misleading claim that toddlers are being “transitioned.” To be clear, prepubescent children are not offered transition surgery or drugs.
• "CNN Says Future Town Halls Will Include Live Audiences, Contrary to Online Posts": CNN was criticized by some for hosting a town hall with Donald Trump and a live audience that expressed strong support for the former president. Online posts now wrongly claim CNN will have “no more live audiences at town halls.” CNN said the claim is “fabricated” and plans a live audience at a town hall with Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley in June.