Never forget where you came from. I grew up on a family farm. We worked hard, took care of what we had and learned early that nothing was guaranteed. Those lessons have stayed with me everywhere I’ve gone. No matter where life takes you, remember the people, places and values that made you who you are.

Leaving the military is a bigger transition than most people realize. I’ve lived it. A new executive order is aimed at making that transition easier by improving how military and medical records are shared with the VA and connecting service members with benefits and job opportunities before they leave active duty. Our veterans earned these benefits. Accessing them shouldn’t be another fight. Cut the bureaucracy and make the system work for the people who served. Read more: whitehouse.gov/presidential-…

Communism isn’t just a chapter in a history book. Its failures have shaped generations, and people around the world are still living under communist governments today. Next Wednesday, September 30, I’ll be in Sunny Isles Beach for a town hall on the reality of communism, the lessons history has taught us and why the next generation needs to understand them. We’ll be at the Gateway Center from 6–7:30 p.m. talking about SB 1264, Florida’s History of Communism law, and why I fought to get this history into our classrooms. Thank you to Commissioner Fabiola Stuyvesant for hosting. If you’re in South Florida, come join the conversation.

Cuba’s communist government spent decades controlling its economy. Now, with its economy in crisis, it’s turning toward some of the very market reforms communism rejected. Private currency exchanges. More room for private businesses. Fewer government barriers to investment. You can call it reform. I call it a lesson. When government controls more and people control less, eventually reality catches up. Freedom works. Communism doesn’t. Read it here: reuters.com/world/americas/l…

I spoke this morning at the Military Influencer Conference in Tampa, joining thousands from across the military and veteran community. I shared a little about my own path after the military and how service has shaped the person I am today. The uniform may come off, but the mission doesn’t end. Veterans carry leadership, discipline and a commitment to service into whatever comes next. Great to be alongside Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs Executive Director James Hartsell and U.S. @SecVetAffairs Doug Collins at an event dedicated to bringing this community together.

President Trump met with Xi Jinping at the White House yesterday to discuss trade, AI, Taiwan and the future of the U.S.-China relationship. Xi used that meeting to press the United States to oppose Taiwanese independence. That matters. The Chinese Communist Party has made its intentions toward Taiwan clear. America should keep its eyes open, stand strong and continue pursuing peace through strength. Read more: marketscreener.com/news/trum…

More people are choosing to call Florida home every day. But we can’t lose the sense of community that makes this state home. Know your neighbors. Talk in the driveway. Check on the older couple down the street. Let the kids play together. Help somebody out when they need it. Strong Florida communities aren’t built online. They’re built by people who show up for each other.

One of the best things about living in Florida is how much of our state is meant to be experienced outside. Fishing. Camping. Hunting. Getting your kids outdoors and letting them experience the Florida we grew up with. Through the end of the year, Floridians can save on eligible fishing, camping and outdoor gear as part of Florida’s current sales tax holiday. Getting outside with your family shouldn’t have to cost a fortune. Keep more money in Floridians’ pockets and give more families a reason to enjoy everything our state has to offer. Read more: flgov.com/eog/news/press/202…

National security isn’t just about what happens overseas. It’s also about whether we have the people, infrastructure and industrial capacity here at home to build what America needs. Florida is investing nearly $23 million in our defense industrial base, including shipbuilding, aerospace, infrastructure and the skilled workforce behind it. We should be building more of that capacity here, strengthening our supply chains and making sure American workers are ready to meet the demand. A strong defense starts with the ability to build, maintain and support it. Read it here: workboat.com/desantis-announ…

We should never forget who we’re dealing with when we sit across the table from China. The Chinese Communist Party controls a one-party state that restricts basic freedoms and has spent decades tightening its grip on its own people. That matters. Engagement with China doesn’t require us to ignore what the CCP is. Know their history. Understand their ideology. Never lose sight of what communism looks like in practice.

Xi Jinping is in Washington today, and one of the biggest issues between the United States and China goes far beyond tariffs: critical minerals. U.S. production of neodymium and praseodymium, two critical rare earths used in powerful magnets, has more than tripled since last year. But America can still only meet about 42% of its own demand, while China remains the world’s dominant rare earth miner and refiner. These materials are essential to our technology, vehicles and defense systems. That makes this about more than trade. It’s about manufacturing, economic security and national security. America has made real progress building capacity at home. There’s still more work to do to reduce our dependence on China and strengthen our own supply chains. Read more: reuters.com/world/china/chin…

Kids need room to explore, but they also need room to work through challenges. To try something new. Get frustrated. Make mistakes. Figure things out. Try again. That’s how kids build resilience. Not by making every challenge disappear, but by learning they can handle hard things when they come. Sometimes the best thing we can give kids is the space to work through a problem themselves. Let them try. Let them fail. Let them get back up.

Florida is growing because people want to live here. But the people who already call Florida home shouldn’t be priced out of it. This year’s budget puts $50 million into Hometown Heroes to help eligible first responders and essential workers buy a home, along with more than $236 million for state and local housing programs. It also keeps investing in programs that help Floridians harden their homes against storms and can help lower insurance costs. Grow Florida. Keep it affordable. And make sure the people who serve our communities can afford to stay in them. Read more: floridarealtors.org/news-med…

Florida’s economy is growing. Our workforce has to keep up. We need nurses. Technicians. Welders. Aviation workers. Cybersecurity professionals. People with specialized skills that employers are actually looking for. Florida’s new Workforce Pell programs are connecting financial aid to short-term training for high-demand careers. Workforce education works best when we start with a simple question: Where do we need people? Then we give Floridians the skills to fill those jobs. Read it here: fldoe.org/newsroom/latest-ne…

Communism never starts by admitting where it ends. It starts with promises. More fairness. More security. More government control to solve the problems of the moment. Then government becomes the answer to everything, and individual freedom becomes an obstacle. History has shown us where that road leads. That’s why teaching the next generation the truth about communism matters.

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Washington today with a long list of issues on the table. AI. Trade. Taiwan. Iran. We should always be willing to sit across the table and talk. But there should be no confusion about who we’re dealing with. The Chinese Communist Party has spent decades working to expand its economic, technological and military power. Diplomacy matters. So does standing firm on America’s interests. Read more: abcnews.com/Politics/trump-x…

There’s value in knowing how to do things for yourself. Change a tire. Cook a meal. Fix something that breaks. Understand where your money goes. Know what to do when the power goes out. We have more technology and convenience than ever before. That shouldn’t mean losing the basic skills that make us capable and independent. Some things are still worth knowing how to do yourself.

Today I had the chance to spend some time with the Volusia Sheriff’s Office talking about something I’ve believed my entire career: leadership isn’t a title. It’s a responsibility. The men and women of Florida law enforcement make decisions every day when the stakes are real and there’s no room for hesitation. That takes discipline, accountability and the willingness to lead from the front. Florida is stronger because of the people who answer that call. Thank you to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office for having me today, and to every law enforcement officer across our state who steps up, takes responsibility and gets the job done.

Florida is growing fast. But once working farmland is paved over, we don’t get it back. Protecting family farms isn’t about stopping growth. It’s about making sure growth doesn’t erase the agriculture, open land and rural communities that are part of Florida’s identity. Florida is putting $425 million toward protecting working farms and ranches from development while keeping that land productive. Growth and conservation don’t have to be enemies. We should be smart enough to do both. Read more: flgov.com/eog/news/press/202…

Free societies don’t sustain themselves on autopilot. They depend on people willing to speak freely, debate openly, know their history and defend their rights. Authoritarianism gains ground when people decide freedom is somebody else’s responsibility. Freedom belongs to all of us. So does the responsibility to defend it.