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A clip of Ron DeSantis using the word "woke" six times within a 19-second span has gone viral on Twitter, sparking mockery from some social media users.

The Florida governor was speaking at a conference in Philadelphia on Friday hosted by Moms for Liberty, a conservative campaign group, during which he vowed to "never ever surrender to the woke mob."

Polling indicates DeSantis is Trump's closest rival for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, though he remains some way behind the former president. DeSantis launched his presidential bid in May vowing to oppose what he termed the "woke mind virus."

During Friday's address, DeSantis commented: "In Florida, we fought the woke across the board, and as president, I will fight the woke in the corporations, I will fight the woke in the schools, I will fight the woke in the halls of Congress. We will never ever surrender to the woke mob. We are going to leave woke ideology in the dustbin of history."

A clip of the governor's comments was shared on Twitter by Ron Filipkowski, a Florida-based attorney who tracks right-wing content on the internet.

He commented: "Six 'wokes' in 19 seconds today at the Moms for Liberty conference. He's really fighting the woke."

The video was viewed more than 520,000 times on Twitter alone and received over 900 retweets and quote tweets.

The remarks sparked criticism from other Twitter users, with one user jokingly commenting: "Police warn against playing the 'woke' drinking game. May cause permanent liver damage."

Another said: "It's all Ron has to work with," followed by the 'man facepalming' emoji.

DeSantis' remarks appeared to paraphrase an iconic speech from British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, during the second world war. As the German army swept across France in 1940, Churchill said: "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."

During an Iowa campaign event on June 3, DeSantis used similar rhetoric, sparking a backlash from critics online.

Richard Stengel, who served in the Obama administration between 2014 and 2016, tweeted: "DeSantis deliberately evoking Churchill ("We will fight them on the beaches"), but Churchill was fighting Nazism, an enemy bent on world domination, while DeSantis is fighting, well, empathy and compassion. Not the same."

DeSantis shared two photos of himself at Friday's conference on Facebook, commenting: "This election is a referendum on the failures of the ideology that is driving the woke agenda in school districts across the country.

"Moms are motivated like never before. 2024 will be the year that parents fought back."

Newsweek has contacted Governor DeSantis for comment via the press inquiry form on his official campaign website.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

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