In a lengthy interview with Tucker Carlson yesterday, at the Family Leadership Summit in Iowa, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis detailed his stance on various issues, including abortion, the environment in Florida, foreign policy, and the potential implementation of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
Regarding the potential implementation of Central Bank Digital Currency, the Governor strongly opposes it and expresses his intention to block its adoption at both the state and national levels.
He argues that it poses a threat to American liberties and could lead to a social credit system.
"The federal government has a responsibility to protect us from foreign threats, but to turn the government on the American people, that's the founding fathers' worst nightmare."
And while he maintains that the imposition of a CBDC on Americans would require Congressional approval, he warned that "The Fed might try something unilaterally." That he would not stand for:
"If I am the president, on day one, we will nix central bank digital currency. Done. Dead. Not happening in this country," DeSantis said to clarify his opposition to the technology.
“They want to get rid of cash. They want no cryptocurrency. They want [CBDCs] to be the sole form of legal tender. It will allow them to prohibit 'undesirable purchases' like fuel and ammunition,” DeSantis contended, adding that "...they have said this publicly at like Davos and these other places
The minute you give them the power to do this "they are going to impose a social credit system on this country," the Florida Governor exclaimed, concluding ominously that "CBDC is a massive threat to American Liberty."
"On January 20th, 2025, [Central Bank Digital Currency] goes to the ash heap of history in this country."
Watch the full interview below (DeSantis' discussion of CBDCs starts around 16:00):
DeSantis’s criticism of CBDCs is not new. As the Florida governor, he signed legislation banning CBDCs from being recognized as legal tender in May.
The presidential candidate has also urged other Republican-led states to introduce their own measures against CBDCs. In March, for example, he appealed to a coalition of 20 states to resist federal backing for the concept.
He is not alone on the right, with Vivek Ramaswamy also expressing opposition to these centralized digital currencies.
On the Democratic side, pro-Bitcoin candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has labeled CBDCs “instruments of control and oppression, [that] are certain to be abused.”
