Vandals spray-painted “Ron DeFascist” on an entrance sign at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. Employees reported the incident to the Simi Valley Police Department Sunday just before 7:30 a.m. The graffiti was cleaned off the sign before Florida Governor Ron DeSantis arrived.

No indications of threats or any other crimes were reported. Police are investigating. No witnesses have come forward. Anyone with information is asked to call the Simi Valley Police Department Tip Line.

The vandalism didn’t stop the event with DeSantis Sunday afternoon. A sold-out crowd of 1300 attended the event, a part of his book tour and lead-up to a potential entrance into the Republican presidential primary race.

The Florida governor was in Simi Valley at the Ronald Reagan library to promote his new book The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival. He arrived Sunday afternoon with his wife and Florida first lady Casey DeSantis and their two eldest children Madison, 6, and Mason, 4. Their youngest, Mamie, was not in tow.

DeSantis is doing all the things a person considering running for president does. He’s written a book heavy on policy to introduce his vision for America using his work in Florida as a blueprint. He’s helping Republicans fundraise. DeSantis had a second stop in California on Sunday – a fundraiser for the Republican Party of Orange County. He is scheduled to make a trip to Iowa on Friday.

Governor Newsom focuses a lot on criticizing DeSantis and his policies in Florida so DeSantis began his speech with a joke about that. ‘I know you’ve got a lot of problems out here, but your governor is very concerned about what we are doing in Florida so I figured I had to come by.’ He went on to deliver a speech that addressed the fact that he’s a man who does what he says he’s going to do. And he doesn’t pay much attention to polls.

‘When I tell you I’m going to do something, I do it,’ DeSantis insisted to a sold-out crowd. ‘I don’t waffle.’

DeSantis spent his speech on issues that are likely to be the cornerstone of a presidential platform – education and parental rights, not bowing to ‘woke’ institutions and taking on spiking crime.

‘I’m going on offense on all of these issues,’ DeSantis said, claiming that when he first became governor in 2018 he made a pledge to ‘not leave any meat on that bone.’

He also attributed much of his success to his team, claiming that he ran a tight ship that avoided leaks and didn’t focus too much on reacting to polling.

‘I never looked at a single poll my entire time as governor. A leader is not captive to polls. A leader will help shape and lead the public’s opinion,’ DeSantis said.

‘Don’t worry about the polls, don’t worry about the daily news cycle,’ he added.

He also mentioned that it is important to have people around you who are working for the people and not themselves. His staff is known for not leaking and keeping focused on the task at hand.

The contrast between DeSantis and Newsom is stark. DeSantis came to California while Newsom was out of the state on a personal trip. Parts of the state are experiencing terrible weather, including some people stuck in their homes due to so much snow. Seems like Newsom should be trying to get help for those who need it instead of leaving for some personal time.

Newsom is one of the Democrats that Joe Biden has asked to be a surrogate on the campaign trail. Sleepy Joe must be planning to campaign from his basement in Delaware again. It worked in 2020 for him.

Democrats are nervous about DeSantis getting into the race. They know that the only Republican candidate that Biden can likely beat is Trump. Democrats are particularly fond of calling DeSantis a fascist or an authoritarian when no one has been more authoritarian in modern American history than Joe Biden. His authoritarian tendencies certainly came out during the pandemic.

MSNBC pseudo historian @BeschlossDC on @GovRonDeSantis: "He has tried to turn himself into sort of a local Mussolini in FL with the book banning & the brutal tactics & even this suggestion that bloggers have to register with the state…this is fascism and authoritarianism…” pic.twitter.com/z9wBvYBHDi

— Kevin Tober (@KevinTober94) March 6, 2023

There will be a lot of this nonsense by panicky Democrats in the months to come. And lots of sold-out venues by Republicans interested in hearing from the governor.