Alongside the Disney theme park, miles of beaches along both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, Florida's long southern peninsula is filled with political, social, and cultural differences. The state's diversity comes as close to any geographic location in the world characterised by the term 'internationalism,' racially, ethnically, and culturally. Yet, not so long ago, this once bastion of liberal welcoming of others has now become firmly entrenched in the Republican Party's extreme brand of `Make America Great Again' (MAGA). This transition, however, did not happen accidently as the authors hope to make clear in this article. There are deep historical and philosophical antecedents to the Florida story which are meant to change how the US is governed, illiberally, and how it relates to the world. It is, therefore, a professional responsibility for internationally-minded educational leadership researchers to reclaim the purposes of education.