FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took time Tuesday morning during a Q&A portion of a news conference in the Panhandle to respond to comments made by former President Donald Trump.
During the news conference, a person in the crowd asked the governor what he thinks about Trump's "less than flattering" comments he made about him.
"When you're getting things done, yeah, you take incoming fire – that's just the nature of it," the governor responded.
He went on to say the media backlash he faced during his four years as governor is "just noise."
"Really what matters is – Are you leading? Are you getting in front of issues? Are you delivering results for people? And are you standing up for folks? And if you do that, then none of that stuff matters," DeSantis said.
DeSantis also announced Tuesday a new initiative launched to help support the state's military families.
During the news conference, DeSantis explained how he signed legislation to establish the Purple Star Campus Program with the Florida Department of Education.
According to the governor, this program "recognizes schools that go above and beyond to help children of military families to succeed."
In order for individual schools across the Sunshine State to apply for the designation of a Purple Star school, they must do the following:
- Designate a faculty member as the military point of contact
- Establish a student-led transition program where military students are connected with nonmilitary peers that can help them engage in school activities
- Reserve at least five percent of open enrollment seats for military students
- Provide teachers with more professional development specialized for military students
DeSantis, who was in Okaloosa County for the news conference, shared that 35 schools in the county alone will now be designated as Purple Star schools. Okaloosa County reportedly has the highest percentage of military student enrollment out of any school district in Florida.
An additional 79 schools across the state will be designated as well -- with a total of 114 Purple Star schools in 10 school districts.
Other than Okaloosa County,schools in Brevard, Citrus, Clay, Duval, Escambia, Hillsborough, Monroe, Santa Rosa and Walton counties will be designated as well.
"This is a big deal for the state, and I think it's going to be something that's going to be beneficial for our military families and for their kids," DeSantis said.
To read more about the Purple Star School Program, click here.
Watch the full news conference down below.