Ron DeSantis in Third GOP presidential primary debate
On Crime:
We're going to shoot drug smugglers stone cold dead
Gov. Ron DeSantis: We are going to designate the cartels to be foreign terrorist organizations or something similar to that and we're going to authorize the use of deadly force. We're going to have maritime operations to interdict precursor chemicals
going into Mexico. But I'll tell you this, if someone in the drug cartels is sneaking fentanyl across the border when I'm president, that's going to be the last thing they do. We're going to shoot them stone cold dead.
Source: NBC News 2023 Republican primary debate in Miami
Nov 8, 2023
On Energy & Oil:
Rip up the Green New Deal and throw it in the trash can
Gov. Ron DeSantis: I'm going to unleash all of America's energy potential on day one. I'm taking all the Biden regulations, the Green New Deal, ripping it up and throwing it in the trash \can where it belongs. We're going to lower your gas prices.
We're going to create jobs, we're going to lower energy costs, but we're also going to be more energy independent and secure. Biden's Green New Deal, that's good for Venezuela, it's good for Russia, it's good for Iran and it's good for China.
Source: NBC News 2023 Republican primary debate in Miami
Nov 8, 2023
On Foreign Policy:
My China policy is very simple: we win; they lose
Gov. Ron DeSantis: I think that China's the top threat we face. They've been very effective at infiltrating different parts of our society. So my policy on China and the Chinese Communist Party is very simple, we win, they lose. It's not just military,
it's economic and it's cultural. It's a full spectrum approach to be able to fend China off. Yes, military deterrence, yes, economic decoupling, but also their role in our culture. If we ignore that, we're not going to be able to win the fight.
Source: NBC News 2023 Republican primary debate in Miami
Nov 8, 2023
On Homeland Security:
We have to be strong and defend the people who defend us
Q: Just today the US launched another one of its limited airstrikes against targets in Syria this time Iranian linked facility, how far would you go militarily to hold Iran accountable?DeSantis: I actually served in Iraq back in the day and we
had Al-Qaeda in Iraq, you had Shia militias that were funded by Iran that were killing 100s and 100s of US troops. And as commander-in-chief, I am not going to put our troops in harm's way unless you're willing to defend them with everything you have.
Biden has [US naval ships and troops] out there, they're sitting ducks, he's doing glancing blows, that's just inviting more attacks from the Iranians. I would say you harm a hair on the head of an American service member and you are
going to have hell to pay. We are not just going to sit there and let our service members be sitting ducks. And that's true whether it's Iran or whether it's any country on the world. We have to be strong and we have to defend the people who defend us.
Source: NBC News 2023 Republican primary debate in Miami
Nov 8, 2023
On Homeland Security:
Increase naval fleet to 600 ships over next 20 years
Gov. Ron DeSanti: If China's able to be the world's leading superpower that will affect you and your family in ways that are going to be very bad. They will export authoritarianism all around the world as the cost of doing business. This is to this
generation what the Soviet Union was to the post-World War II generation. We're going to get to 355 ships at the end of the first term, 385 ships at the end of the second term, but we're going to have a path to 600 ships over the next 20 years.
Source: NBC News 2023 Republican primary debate in Miami
Nov 8, 2023
On Immigration:
Terrorists have come in through our southern border
Gov. Ron DeSantis: When I'm president, we are not going to send your sons and daughters to Ukraine. I am going to send troops to our southern border. If you look at the threats that we face, terrorists have come in through our southern border.
I'm going to shut it down. I'm going to have the military and I'm going to deport the people who've come, particularly under Biden, who've come from the Middle East, come from all these places.
Source: NBC News 2023 Republican primary debate in Miami
Nov 8, 2023
On War & Peace:
We will stand with Israel in word and in deed
Q: The Israel-Hamas war is a month old, with over 200 hostages held in Gaza. As President of the United States, what would you be urging Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do?Gov. Ron DeSantis: I would be telling Bibi, "Finish the job once
and for all with these butchers, Hamas, their terrorists, their massacring innocent people." They would wipe every Jew off the globe if they could. He cannot live with that threat right by his country. That Hamas should release every hostage and they
should unconditionally surrender. We will stand with Israel in word and in deed in public and in private. As governor, I actually did something about it. Biden's neglect has been atrocious. We had Floridians that were over there after the attack.
He left them stranded. They couldn't get flights out. So I sent planes over to Israel and I brought back over 700 people to safety. So there’s a difference between words and deeds; we acted and we save lives.
Source: NBC News 2023 Republican primary debate in Miami
Nov 8, 2023
Page last updated: Nov 18, 2023