Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, a staunch defender of law enforcement, is making a tour around the country to meet and support law enforcement officers.

DeSantis will visit areas of New York City, Philadelphia, and Chicago, reportedly discussing his own efforts in Florida vis-à-vis law enforcement.

“It’s a law enforcement rally to send a message back to some of our elected officials that the laws that they have enacted in the state of New York are not working  — specifically the bail reform laws — and it’s putting my members, detectives and cops in danger, as well as the public,” Paul DiGiacomo, president of New York City’s Detectives’ Endowment Association, said of Monday’s meeting in Staten Island. “It’s gone too far to the left over the last couple of years.”

“On Staten Island, we are proud to support our law enforcement,” Assemblyman Mike Tannousis, the Staten Island GOP chairman, stated. “I’m happy that our law enforcement community will get some recognition and support.”

At the end of 2022, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced the state’s crime rate fell 8% from 2021, reportedly the lowest crime rate in the state in 50 years.

DeSantis’ “Framework for Freedom Budget” includes salary increases for a variety of law enforcement personnel, as it states:

$107.2 million to increase the Department of Corrections’ (FDC) base rate of pay to $23 per hour for specified Correctional Officer, Correctional Probation Officer, and Inspector positions;

$1.8 million to provide a four percent increase to Special Agents and Law Enforcement positions within the Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE);

$6.8 million for special pay adjustments based on salary ranges for all sworn law enforcement officers within FDLE, Department of Legal Affairs (DLA), State Attorneys, and State Courts (SCS); and

$8.5 million for an increase for years of service for sworn law enforcement officers within FDLE, DLA, State Attorneys, and SCS.

$30 million for a second round of recruitment bonus payments for law enforcement officers who are new to the profession in the state, including those relocating from other states. This initiative will provide bonus payments of $5,000 to new eligible law enforcement officers.

“What Florida has done is establish a blueprint for governance that has produced tangible results while serving as a rebuke to the entrenched elites who have driven our nation into the ground. Florida is proof positive that we, the people are not powerless in the face of these elites,” DeSantis has written.

President Joe Biden quietly slipped into Kyiv Monday for an unannounced visit as the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine draws near.

Biden met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, walking together around St. Michael’s Cathedral as air raid sirens sounded around the embattled city. Biden pledged a new aid package that will include more javelins and Howitzers and announced a new round of sanctions on Moscow.

“One year later, Kyiv stands,” Biden said. “And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands.”

Today, President Biden is in Kyiv to reaffirm America’s unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.

The United States of America will stand with the Ukrainian people for as long as it takes. pic.twitter.com/1IJuCcsVJd

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 20, 2023

Biden arrived in Kyiv at 8 a.m. Monday, and his motorcade arrived at Mariinsky Palace 30 minutes later.

“Thank you for coming,” Zelensky said, greeting Biden.

The secretive visit came a day before Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to deliver a speech marking the one-year anniversary of the war, which has cost the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides and wrecked Ukrainian cities.

“Putin thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided,” Biden told reporters. “He thought he could outlast us. I don’t think he’s thinking that right now.”

“He’s just been plain wrong,” Biden said of Putin. “One year later, the evidence is right here in this room. We stand here together.”

Biden said later the visit was intended to underscore U.S. support for Ukraine’s defense.

“I thought it was critical that there not be any doubt, none whatsoever, about US support for Ukraine in the war,” Biden said.

CNN reported that Air Force One left Joint Base Andrews at 4:15 a.m. ET on Sunday, and reporters who accompanied the president were not allowed to carry phones or tablets. Because Ukraine is at war and the U.S. has no military presence there, the trip was shrouded in secrecy. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan was among the top aides who accompanied Biden.

Zelensky visited Biden in Washington in December and had reportedly invited Biden to visit Kyiv.

The war began Feb. 24, 2022, when Russia launched its invasion. In November, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley estimated that 100,000 soldiers had been killed on each side and as many as 40,000 civilians had also died. Millions of Ukrainians have fled the country.