Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Sunday defended his move to financially isolate radical pro-Palestinian student groups, as well as his decision to remain in the 2024 Republican presidential primary despite trailing Donald Trump in the polls.
DeSantis was pressed by host Kristen Welker on NBC’s “Meet the Press” about whether the 77-year-old former president’s mountain of “legal problems” is the reason the Florida politician decided to stay in the race.
“No. I think if Alvin Bragg hadn’t politicized this in April, I think the primaries would probably look different,” DeSantis responded, referring to the Manhattan district attorney, who brought the first criminal case against Trump earlier this year.
“I think that gave more support to the former president. I think people felt like they were treating him unfairly, and that’s how it was under those circumstances,” DeSantis said of his main rival.
The governor was also asked to respond to criticism over his announcement last week that the State University System of Florida would cut funding to the group Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).
Some, including fellow 2024 foe and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy criticized the measure as an attack on freedom of expression.
“This is not cancel culture,” DeSantis responded on “Meet the Press,” saying the SJP had joined terrorist groups like Hamas, which launched the deadly Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel.
Students gather at the University of Florida’s Turlington Hall to pray after a class organized by Students for Justice in Palestine.ZUMAPRESS.com Ron DeSantis argued that radical pro-Palestinian student groups have been supporting groups behind terrorist activity in Israel.AP
“This group, themselves, said after the Hamas attack that they not only stand in solidarity, but that they are part of this Hamas movement,” he continued.
“And so you have the right to go out and demonstrate, but you can’t provide material support to terrorism.”
“Are we going to commit suicide as a country and let groups that were openly siding with brutal terrorist organizations metastasize?” DeSantis added. “I don’t think that’s the recipe for a successful country.”
The 2024 Republican candidate has tried to present himself as a defender of Israel and boasted about Florida’s recent decision to help a private company evacuate people from the war-torn nation.
Last week, Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.), the only Jewish Republican in the state legislature, switched his endorsement from DeSantis to Trump, arguing in part that the governor had not been as vocal in opposing neo-Nazi harassment. in Florida.
“Well, he’s just trying to get his 15 minutes of fame. I mean, this guy was praising me a couple months ago. He has his different reasons why he is doing that. “We have acted very, very quickly and decisively,” DeSantis argued on Sunday.
While the 45-year-old Florida governor weighed in on the political fallout from Trump’s string of 91 criminal charges, he also said that “ultimately, this is not about the past.”
“It’s not about all those other issues,” he told Welker. “Ultimately, it’s about how to get in and reverse the country’s decline.”
Ron DeSantis takes second place in 2024 Republican primary.NBC
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg slapped Trump with 34 charges for alleged hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels and others during the 2016 cycle.
Trump also faces two federal cases: 40 counts of alleged hoarding of classified documents and four counts related to 2020 election subversion, as well as 13 counts of alleged tampering with the 2020 election in Georgia.
He has denied wrongdoing across the board.
Donald Trump is the Republican Party’s distant favorite for the 2024 presidential election. Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images
At one point during the wide-ranging interview, Welker questioned DeSantis about Florida’s gun laws in the wake of the mass shooting in Maine in which 18 people were killed and 13 more wounded by a U.S. Army reservist who police said had history of mental health problems. affairs.
“I would be more aggressive with some of those marginalized people who are clearly signaling that they are a great danger to society,” DeSantis said.
But the governor rejected a push for so-called red flag laws, in which authorities could temporarily confiscate an individual’s firearms if witnesses see them engaging in some type of erratic behavior.
Florida’s governor rejected calls for gun control but indicated he would strengthen mental health programs.Getty Images
“I don’t believe in the idea that the government can just take someone’s property and then go through due process,” DeSantis said.
Welker will moderate the third 2024 Republican debate in DeSantis’ home state on Nov. 8 alongside NBC host Lester Holt and conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.
Trump appears set to once again skip the debate and attend his planned rally in Hialeah, Florida, just a 30-minute drive from the verbal spat.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn