The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines “woke” as “aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice).”
Asked by a reporter if he could define “woke", presidential candidate Ron DeSantis said, “… it’s basically a war on the truth.”
In his 2023 inaugural speech, DeSantis proclaimed “We will never surrender to the woke mob. Florida is where woke goes to die.” Casey DeSantis, his wife, made a fashion statement of support, sporting a leather jacket bearing what has become a slogan for the right.
DeSantis and other presidential candidates are waging “a war on woke”— escalating a war on people who advocate against racism and LGBTQ discrimination and for social, political, and reproductive justice.
