Gov. Ron DeSantis addressed a Palm Harbor audience, praising student essays and first responders, reiterating that Florida requires 9/11 curriculum in public schools and saying the state will provide additional scholarship funds to students.

DeSantis said the 9/11 terrorist attacks directly killed “almost 3,000” people and emphasized that the toll is larger when accounting for first responders who later developed illnesses. “Many…have died in the years since as a result of what they did that day,” he said, and added that others continue to suffer serious health effects from their service at Ground Zero. He said Florida has a large population of 9/11 veterans and that their input helped shape the state’s curriculum requirement.

“I just wanna say after listening to those essays, I was really impressed,” DeSantis said, adding that the state will “give more money to these kids” through scholarships. He also named Florida’s education official in his remarks as “Stasi Kamutsis.”

DeSantis framed the attacks as a foreign-ideology–motivated assault on the United States and said the nation’s response showed “true heroism,” citing New York Police Department, Port Authority and Fire Department of New York personnel and military responders. He said students should learn both the facts of the attack and the heroism displayed: “It’s important for our kids to know that…we saw some of the best that this country has to offer.”

In broader remarks on political discourse, DeSantis said recent violence against public figures is unacceptable and referenced the killing of a “young political leader, Charlie Kirk,” describing the act as an example of political violence that “is certainly not that you kill somebody in order to silence them.” That phrasing was made in the course of his speech and is included here as his characterization.

DeSantis closed by thanking the community for commemorating those lost on 9/11 and thanking current uniformed personnel. “We never forget your sacrifice,” he said, concluding his remarks with “God bless.”

No votes, motions or formal actions were recorded during this segment of the meeting.