In the latest advertisement released by his campaign, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis addresses the issue of expenditures and blames both Democrats and Republicans. DeSantis shared the ad on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday. It runs for just under two minutes and lays out how the situation got to this point, explains why we are here, and outlines DeSantis’ plan to address the issue.

The ad begins with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto asking, “Are You Sitting Down?” The ad begins with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto asking, “Are you sitting down?” Overlaid on the U.S. Capitol building and the Federal Reserve are images of our total debt.

DeSantis says in an interview that the government spends too much money. They’ve frozen COVID-era spending levels, which are unsustainable.

The video cuts to a number of Fox News hosts talking about inflation and how half of Americans are worse off than they were a year earlier.

DeSantis is seen on the campaign trail denouncing overspending. “They borrowed, printed, and spent trillions and billions of dollars under the auspices of COVID and other things.” The scene then cuts to a cackling Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, enjoying her expensive ice cream in front of a mega-dollar refrigerator, before the former president Donald Trump signs a bill above a chyron that reads “Trump Signs a $2T Coronavirus stimulus.”

DeSantis continued: “Both sides have done it. Both parties are involved,” as President Joe Biden shook hands with Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell. He continued, “…and in fact, Republicans are tough when out of power but they go on a spending spree when they come into power. You’ve probably seen this over the past five to six years. The headline reads: “Under Donald Trump’s Watch, the National Debt increased by $7.8 trillion.” This is followed by a picture of Trump in his Oval Office behind the Resolute desk, grinning and thumbs-up, flanked by McConnell, Paul Ryan, the former House Speaker (R-WI), and Mike Pence. They are all smiling as if they were making a dig at DeSantis,

DeSantis then declares, “I can assure you that in Florida we have budget surpluses. We have the lowest per capita debt in the country ….We paid off debt. I’ve vetoed millions and billions in excessive spending…As president, you have to be prepared to use the veto to fight against excessive spending.” This is all overlaid with headlines praising DeSantis for paying off $400,000,000 in state debt and cutting $3 Billion from the state budget. Then, a picture of Joe Biden with his head down, and a picture of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, shrugging it off, are shown.

DeSantis ends with “We will stop Congress from borrowing and wasting this country into oblivion,” while we see several headlines about Trump signing spending legislation. As the music crescendos, we see a few cuts of Senator Lindsey Graham and Vice President Kamalah Harris, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), McConnell and Schumer. “We need a drastic reduction in the federal bureaucracy…We also need a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. We need term limitations for Congress members. The Swamp will not like it. But what do you think? The Swamp has had its fill of us. “Now is the time for Us, the People, to impose our will upon it.”

This ad is a strong message that hits all the right points, regardless of which candidate you prefer among the GOP candidates. The ad tackles an important issue, one of America’s top concerns. It places the blame on the current leadership and DeSantis’ top competitor. This message is likely to appeal both to fiscal conservatives, whether they are Republican or Independent voters, as well as to those who are frustrated by the federal bureaucracy and tired of Washington’s long-in-the-tooth leadership.