Political speech, timestamped and in context

Ron DeSantis: “We've done massive environmental restoration.”

Featuring: Ron DeSantis, Republican | Governor of Florida

BREAKING: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Holds Ribbon Cutting For Completed River Widening In Sarasota

Published October 2, 2026

So we've done that. We've done a lot for our highway patrol, other state agencies. We're proud to do that. We've done massive environmental restoration. So you look at the C43 reservoir, the C44 reservoir, we built those. They used to discharge the water out of Lake Okeechobee, which is not. (05:06–05:10)

STATEMENT

Asserts that Florida has undertaken massive environmental restoration projects.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

See the main statements from Ron DeSantis in this video

“Florida's economy was a little over a trillion dollars, which was big. Now we're about $1.9 trillion after seven and a half years.”
Asserts that Florida's economy grew from over $1 trillion to $1.9 trillion in seven and a half years.00:50-01:01
“We will have paid off 54% of the state's debt under my [tenure].”
Asserts that 54% of Florida's state debt has been paid off during his tenure.02:43-02:52
“We will have done the largest environmental restoration in the entire history of the United States of America.”
Asserts that Florida will have completed the largest environmental restoration in U.S. history.05:50-05:57
“If you look at the visitation to Florida for tourism, you know, we used to get 90 million, like, 10 years ago. We were like, 90 million. Now 140 million people are coming.”
Asserts that tourism in Florida increased from 90 million visitors to 140 million visitors over ten years.06:50-07:03
“We've been ranked number one economy in America by various publications many years over this tenure.”
Asserts that Florida has been ranked as the number one economy in America by various publications during his tenure.01:17-01:25
“We have a triple A credit rating for all major rating agencies.”
Asserts that Florida has a triple A credit rating from all major rating agencies.01:24-01:30
“We've done 10 billion in tax reduction just under my tenure, which is more than has ever been done in the state's history.”
Asserts that $10 billion in tax reductions have been made under his tenure, the most in Florida's history.01:59-02:08
“This is the fourth year in a row that Florida has reduced its state budget.”
Asserts that Florida has reduced its state budget for four consecutive years.03:27-03:34
“We've done some really big things with the tax dollars we have. We have supported law enforcement by doing our law enforcement recruitment bonuses.”
Asserts that Florida has supported law enforcement through recruitment bonuses funded by tax dollars.04:00-04:11
“We've also done on education, universal school choice.”
Asserts that Florida has implemented universal school choice.05:59-06:04
“We've done special increases for teacher salaries.”
Asserts that Florida has implemented special increases for teacher salaries.06:06-06:10
“I didn't believe, like, oh, because some people are like, you know, you know, build trains, do that. You know, that doesn't work in Florida.”
Asserts that building trains is not a viable solution for Florida's transportation needs.07:41-07:49
“So just like in i4, we did the temporary expansion in Polk county and Osceola County. It's cut the commute in half there as a result of doing.”
Asserts that the temporary expansion of i4 in Polk and Osceola Counties has halved commute times.07:56-08:08
“We ended up probably 7, $8 billion total once everything came into fruition, to take projects that weren't even scheduled to start.”
Asserts that $7-8 billion was allocated to expedite infrastructure projects in Florida.09:06-09:17
“We're always ranked pretty good for infrastructure and the quality of our roads.”
Asserts that Florida is consistently ranked well for infrastructure and road quality.09:25-09:31
“I275 expansion in Pinellas County... That's going to reduce traffic delays by as much as 85%.”
Asserts that the I275 expansion in Pinellas County will reduce traffic delays by up to 85%.10:02-10:16
“Fruitville interchange, i75 in Sarasota, diverging diamond. It's going to increase capacity by 40,000 vehicles.”
Asserts that the Fruitville interchange project will increase vehicle capacity by 40,000.10:31-10:41
“U.S. 301 from County 470 to the Turnpike and Sumter county, delays reduced by up to 94%.”
Asserts that improvements on U.S. 301 will reduce delays by up to 94%.11:42-11:51
“Addition of new auxiliary lanes to I75, 31 miles up and through Ocala... It's going to be done 10 to 15 years ahead of schedule.”
Asserts that new auxiliary lanes on I75 will be completed 10 to 15 years ahead of schedule.12:00-12:27
“Over the next five years, we're looking at about $70 billion in projects.”
Asserts that Florida plans to invest approximately $70 billion in infrastructure projects over the next five years.12:53-12:58