Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis said during an interview this week that a key component for turning America around is going to be people turning back to their faith.

DeSantis made the remarks during an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) while discussing a range of issues related to his faith.

“I always believed that it doesn’t matter where you start,” DeSantis said. “If you put that nose to the grindstone and work hard, God has a plan for you and you can do well in this country.”

DeSantis said that his Catholic faith has kept him grounded and that he focuses on living out his faith versus just talking about it.

“Our household is a Christ-centered household,” DeSantis said. “We’re raising our kids with those values. We think that that’s very important. … It’s great for us when our kids are coming back from preschool or kindergarten, talking about David and Goliath and we’re like, thank you. So we’re very, very appreciative of being able to do that. … My son, he was four for Christmas this year, he wanted a sling to be like David slaying Goliath, and so that really warms our hearts when we see that.”

The governor said that the piece of scripture that is central to who he is is when Jesus said, “I’m the way, the truth, and the life.”

“I mean, that’s ultimately what the faith centers around,” DeSantis said. “Yes, there’s a lot of traditions and I think a lot of those are nice, but at the end of the day, where is your heart with respect to God and what is that relationship?”

DeSantis called out former President Donald Trump during the interview for not backing Florida’s heartbeat law.

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“While I appreciate what the former president has done in a variety of realms, he opposes that bill,” he said. “He said it was ‘harsh’ to protect an unborn child when there’s a detectable heartbeat. I think that’s humane to do.”

“I mean, I was really surprised because he’s a Florida resident and I thought he would compliment the fact that we were able to do the heartbeat bill, which pro-lifers have wanted for a long time,” he added. “He never complimented, never said anything about it. Then he was asked about it and he said it was ‘harsh.’”

DeSantis said that in order for the country to get turned around, people are going to have to start returning to their faith.

“It’s got to be spiritual,” he said. “And I think it’s got to be a strong faith, that is really going to get us through very turbulent times.”

“Look, at the end of the day, there’s certain problems, economic problems, there’s problems at the border, they are all very important, but why are we here?” he asked. “Why are we free people? We’re free because God has endowed us with inalienable rights. That’s why America was founded. Our Constitution was created, not to give us rights, but to protect the rights that God has already bestowed upon us.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) has reportedly opened a “soft inquiry” to fill Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat should she retire before the end of her term in 2025 due to her increasingly poor health.

Newsom isn’t openly searching, a “person involved in the conversation” told Vanity Fair. Instead, the governor is asking: “If somehow one of California’s U.S. Senate seats was vacant, would you be interested in filling it?” the mag said.

Back in 2021, Newsom committed to picking a black woman to replace Feinstein, 89, who missed three months of work earlier this year due to her deteriorating health. But Vanity Fair says should he stick with that plan, he’ll ruffle some feathers.

Perhaps the most qualified is Red. Barbara Lee (D-CA), but she is running far behind Rep. Adam Schiff and Rep. Katie Porter in early polling. Appointing Lee would greatly annoy another powerful California Democrat, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who prefers Schiff.

Meanwhile, a new poll released this week found a majority of California voters think Feinstein should resign.

The Inside California Politics/Emerson College survey found 63% think she should go, while 37% say she should stay. The same poll found just 22% approve of the job Feinstein is doing, while 48% disapprove.

“Older voters are more likely than younger voters to say Feinstein should resign: 68% of voters over 50 think the Senator should resign compared to 58% of voters under 50 who say the same,” said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling.

“When asked who voters supported for the March 2024 primary election for US Senate, a plurality (47%) are undecided. Fifteen percent support Rep. Adam Schiff, while 14% support Rep. Katie Porter, and 6% support Rep. Barbara Lee,” the pollster said.

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In March, Feinstein suffered an outbreak of shingles that spread to her face and neck, causing vision and balance impairments, as well as facial paralysis.

The virus also brought on a case of encephalitis, a swelling of the brain that can leave sufferers with long-term memory or language problems, sleep disorders, bouts of confusion, mood disorders, and difficulties walking.

When Feinstein returned to the Senate in nearly three months later, she was in a wheelchair, with “the left side of her face frozen and one eye nearly shut, she seemed disoriented as an aide steered her through the marble corridors of the Senate, complaining audibly that something was stuck in her eye,” The New York Times reported.

Other polls have found that Californians are tiring of Feinstein. More than two-thirds of voters in a statewide survey think Feinstein is not fit to serve in the Senate, according to a recent poll.

Sixty-seven percent of registered voters in the state say Feinstein’s latest illness, which has left her in a wheelchair, has left her unfit for office, according to a poll conducted by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies.

Poll respondents were asked if they agreed with the statement, “Feinstein’s latest illness underlines the fact that she is no longer fit to continue serving in the U.S. Senate.”

In addition, on the question of whether she should resign, a plurality (42%) said she should. Another 27% said Feinstein should serve in the Senate until the end of her term in 2025, while 31% said they were undecided.

The poll was conducted from May 17 to 22 and surveyed 7,465 registered voters with random emails in both English and Spanish.

The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.