Orlando Democrats thought they could pressure Ron DeSantis into backing down.
They were dead wrong.
And Ron DeSantis doubled down on one decision that left Orlando Democrats absolutely livid.
DeSantis refuses to cave to LGBTQ activist pressure
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis found himself in the crosshairs of radical leftist activists this week after his administration removed a rainbow-colored crosswalk outside the former Pulse nightclub in Orlando.
The Florida Department of Transportation painted over the crosswalk in the early morning hours of August 21st as part of a broader federal initiative to eliminate political messaging from public roadways.
But instead of quietly accepting the decision, Orlando’s Democrat politicians and professional LGBTQ activists launched a coordinated attack against the Governor.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer – a typical Democrat politician – immediately labeled the removal “callous” and a “cruel political act.”
State Representative Anna Eskamani, another radical leftist from Orlando, took to social media to whip up outrage over what she called an attack on “mostly LGBTQ+ people.”
The professional activists thought they could shame DeSantis into reversing course and apologizing for following federal safety guidelines.
They badly miscalculated.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy leads nationwide safety push
The crosswalk removal wasn’t some random attack on the LGBTQ community – it was part of a nationwide safety initiative launched by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
Duffy sent letters to all 50 governors earlier this year as part of the SAFE ROADS initiative, demanding that state and local governments remove political messaging and artwork from public roadways.
“This is about safety and operation at intersections, keeping the right-of-way free from distractions,” Duffy explained in his directive. “Far too many Americans die each year to traffic fatalities. Our focus must remain on making roads safer and easier to navigate, not using them for political statements.”
The Florida Department of Transportation updated its Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices following months of input from state and local governments.
In June, FDOT notified all local governments about the new requirements and warned that state funding could be withheld for noncompliance.
The agency identified 18 other intersections in Orlando alone that needed to have their political artwork removed.
But the rainbow crosswalk at Pulse wasn’t even on that original list – FDOT had to conduct a separate review of state-maintained roadways to catch it.
“Transportation infrastructure is for the movement of people and goods,” FDOT stated. “That means ensuring our roadways are not utilized for social, political, or ideological interests.”
Orlando activists resort to vandalism and intimidation tactics
When their initial outrage campaign failed to move DeSantis, the activists resorted to more desperate measures.
A group of roughly 100 Orlando residents showed up with chalk to illegally restore the rainbow colors to the crosswalk.
State Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith – the first openly gay Latino elected to the Florida Legislature – praised the vandalism and declared “love always wins.”
Other activists used even more inflammatory language to attack the state’s decision.
Pulse shooting survivor Brandon Wolf posted on social media: “The cowards threatened by our lives should feel lucky they didn’t have to bury the ones they love – then watch the state come & bury their memory.”
Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan accused FDOT of targeting the LGBTQ community and called the enforcement of federal safety standards “a slap in the face.”
The activists clearly expected DeSantis to fold under pressure like so many weak Republicans before him.
What real leadership looks like
When Smith attacked the state’s actions as “vandalism,” DeSantis fired back on social media with a clear message.
“We will not allow our state roads to be commandeered for political purposes,” the Governor posted on X.
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1958583393714667572
That single sentence perfectly captured what this fight was really about – not rainbow colors or memorial crosswalks, but whether radical activists can hijack government property for their political agenda.
The response sent a clear signal to every other activist group in Florida: intimidation tactics and social media outrage campaigns won’t work with this administration.
DeSantis has spent his entire governorship refusing to cave to woke pressure, and he wasn’t about to start now.
Look, this whole dustup reveals something important about how the Left operates. T
The moment any government official tries to enforce uniform standards that happen to affect their political messaging, they immediately claim victimhood and launch coordinated attacks.
They tried the same playbook with DeSantis that’s worked on countless other Republican politicians over the years. Generate some social media outrage, get a few sympathetic media stories, and watch the GOP official issue a groveling apology.
But DeSantis isn’t your typical Republican politician. He actually believes in the principles he campaigns on, and he’s willing to take heat to defend them.
The activists can keep chalking their illegal crosswalk designs all they want. DeSantis has made it clear that Florida’s roadways will follow federal safety standards, not the latest progressive cause of the day.
And the best part? Every time they vandalize that crosswalk with their chalk, they’re proving DeSantis’s point about activists trying to commandeer public property for political purposes.
¹ Anita Padilla, “Orlando mulls legal action after Florida removes rainbow crosswalk,” Florida’s Voice, August 22, 2025.
² Shane Winsten, “FDOT removes protest rainbow stripes from crosswalk near Pulse,” WESH-TV, August 24, 2025.
³ John Riley, “Florida Paves Over Pulse Rainbow Crosswalk; Protesters Restore It,” Metro Weekly, August 23, 2025.
⁴ WKMG Orlando, “Rainbow crosswalk near Pulse Nightclub in Orlando removed overnight,” August 22, 2025.
⁵ Blake Wolf, “DeSantis defends painting over LGBTQ-themed crosswalk in Orlando despite backlash from local Democrats,” One America News, August 24, 2025.
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: rgcory
This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://www.desantisdaily.com and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host site and is used for educational purposes only. If you are the author or represent the host site and would like this content removed now and in the future, please contact USSANews.com using the email address in the Contact page found in the website menu.
