Gray skies and incessant rain covered Tallahassee, Florida's sleepy capital, as I walked into the office of the state's governor and Republican presidential candidate, Ron DeSantis. But the weather outside stood in stark contrast to the storm emanating from the charismatic man.
In his first exclusive interview with Israeli media, DeSantis lashed out at President Biden for his treatment of Israel, calling him a "disgrace" and accusing the sitting president of "turning his back on Israel."
Ron DeSantis in an exclusive interview with Israel Hayom
What do you think about the fact that seven months after a new government was formed in Israel, President Biden has not yet invited Prime Minister Netanyahu to the White House?
"I think it's a disgrace. The relationship between the United States and Israel must be built of iron. We have no better ally in the Middle East, and we have strong cultural and religious ties with the State of Israel. But their attitude (that of the incumbent administration) is tantamount to bending Israel's hand behind its back. I think this is a mistake.
"But it's part and parcel of how this administration sees the world. That is, they are more interested in groveling to Iran than in standing with our allies. For me as president, there will be a really strong relationship with Israel, and that will be something that Americans can be proud of."
The double hat, as an active governor and as a contender, leads DeSantis to lead an inhuman lifestyle these days. His men admit they have trouble keeping up with him. As governor, he continues to run Florida and frequently visits the town. As a candidate, he runs around the U.S. states and travels thousands of miles in the air. He arrived for the interview from Tampa, less than a two-hour flight away. Eventually, after a brief visit home, he will fly to North Carolina, about six hours away by air.
Prime Minister Netanyahu. DeSantis called his non-invitation to the White House a "disgrace", Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
"The money will go to terrorism and weapons development"
DeSantis, only 44, is considered Trump's only real contender in the Republican Party. However, he, too, is tens of percentage points behind the former president. 60 for Trump, 20 for DeSantis and a few percent for the rest are the usual results in most polls. In fact, for DeSantis, it's a weakening since he officially entered the race last month in a lame Twitter conversation with Elon Musk. Prior to the official launch, it stood at 30 percent in quite a few surveys.
If he is exhausted from the effort or disappointed in the situation - this is not evident in him. DeSantis has broad shoulders and a strong personality. That can't be taken away from him. He projects this power even in closed conversations, even though his polling performance is not as good as he expected.
You mentioned Iran, which of course is our top priority. What would you do about Iran and its nuclear program?
"First of all, the deal between Obama and Khomeini (referring to Khamenei; AK) was a total disaster, and Biden is trying to revive it. But when you concede to the Iranians, they use that money only to encourage terrorism, and they will invest that money in developing weapons and promoting terrorism. So I think we need to pressure Iran, make sure they understand that their pursuit of nuclear capability is going to harm them economically, diplomatically and maybe even militarily. The ayatollahs understand only power. We will support, and obviously we will have a much stronger position against Iran."
Ali Khamenei. "Iran is the country that has killed the most Americans since 1979," the AP said
A strong stance also means the use of force?
"I think we have excellent deterrence, although not as good as it used to be. One of the things I will do as president is rebuild some of our military capability. Especially when you look at our ability to project power, by sea, we have about 200 ships of the Navy, compared to almost 600 in President Reagan's day. So we have a lot to do.
"But at the end of the day, I can say that Iran poses an existential threat to the State of Israel, and they would love to wipe Israel off the map. Don't get me wrong. They would also be happy to wipe out America, but given Israel's geographical proximity to Iran and Israel's size, if they were armed with nuclear weapons, they might try to destroy Israel completely. Iran has an apocalyptic ideology. From this perspective, Israel has the right to defend itself, and the United States should support it in every step it takes."
Our envoy to Florida, Ariel Kahane, on the state of the US presidential race
What do you think of President Biden's intention to reach "understandings" with Iran regarding the nuclear program?
"Iran is the country that has killed the most Americans since 1979, so the idea that we're going to have understandings with them — I just don't see that in the cards."
Let's move on, if we can, to the Palestinian issue. You played a part in pushing the move to move the American embassy to Jerusalem. But now the question is about Judea and Samaria.
If she becomes president, would she support the step of applying Israel's sovereignty?
"As for Jerusalem, I don't think Biden is fully committed to keeping the embassy there. Their view is the '67 borders, but we reject that. In other words, Jerusalem is the indivisible, undisputed capital of the Jewish people. For me, this will be very clear. Now, in terms of Judea and Samaria, I have always rejected this idea that this is 'occupied territory.' There are parts there that are the most historic for Jews, dating back to Biblical times.
"Yes, there was a partition plan with the UN in the 40s, but the Arabs rejected it and chose to wage war for many decades. And therefore it is not occupied territory. It's disputed territory. And I think Israel's claim to him is the strongest, over anyone else. I was the first senior elected official, back in 2019, to hold a public event in Judea and Samaria at Ariel University. We wanted to break the stigma that somehow 'it's not appropriate to do [events in Judea and Samaria].' We also imposed sanctions against BDS on companies that attacked Israel, which usually targeted Jews living in Judea and Samaria. So we said it wasn't acceptable – if it was Ben & Jerry's or Airbnb."
Biden. "I don't think he's obligated to keep the embassy in Jerusalem," Photo: AP
"I am the most pro-Israel governor"
Let's move on to Jewish issues. I know that you are a great supporter of the Jewish community here, and that you have made moves for the community. But every now and then I can see people who claim to be your supporters, but who walk around with swastikas and the like. What do you say to these people?
"I say it's a farce. You realize they're wearing masks. The media doesn't investigate who these people are, and they try to create some kind of connection between me and them. I can honestly tell you that I'm the last person people who carry a swastika would want to support. I am the most pro-Israel governor in America. We have taken steps to support our Jewish community here, including a huge amount of money to secure Jewish schools, as they may be targets of anti-Semitic attacks. We have just initiated a bill to help fight antisemitic property crimes.
Ron DeSantis, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
"Now, you know, we have the First Amendment [which enshrines free speech; A.C.). You can display a swastika if you want, but you can't throw it at a synagogue, which is private property. So we were very strong on that. But you have to be very careful what some of these political people are doing. They're trying to create a narrative that somehow these people have a foothold in Florida. This is not true. We have more Jewish immigration to Florida than anywhere else in the United States, especially Orthodox Jews, who are usually the ones targeted by anti-Semitic attacks. If you see one of those (waving a swastika) as a journalist, ask: Why do they cover their faces? I would be very cautious and suspicious about these things."
The United States is deeply involved in supporting Ukraine. But on the other hand, and perhaps it is related, we in the Middle East are seeing more and more involvement of China. From your point of view, which is more dangerous for America: the situation in Ukraine or China?
"China is our number one geopolitical threat, without a doubt. In the last generation, largely because of bad American policies that unfortunately allowed them to capture so much productive power and our economy, the US has become very dependent on China. Almost everything we do in some ways has to do with China. It's not a good position to be in.
"The United States should have the Monroe Doctrine of the 21st century, where we guard our own backyard, and some of these other hostile powers shouldn't be able to come in here and do that. And by the way, why do they do it anyway? Because they don't know they won't get any response from Biden. They flew a spy balloon that crossed the US. Presumably the US government knew or tracked it, but did nothing. It encourages them to project more power."
Donald Trump. "Everyone is innocent until proven guilty," Photo: AP
Here in Florida, a very famous trial is underway against former President Donald Trump on charges of possession of secret documents. What is your position on all the charges, which seem very serious?
"I think every person is innocent until proven guilty. But you know, we had a problem in this country. For many years, these agencies in Washington, D.C., have been pursuing individuals and organizations with a political agenda. When Trump became president, they concocted the conspiracy of a "Russian conspiracy" designed to overthrow his presidency and even remove him from office. My task as president will be to clean up these agencies. People should have faith in the justice system."
You are known to fight very hard against what is called "Woke" here. Why are you waging war against this agenda?
"Woke is actually a form of cultural Marxism in the United States. They're trying to elevate identity politics at the expense of talent and achievement, and they're waging a war against the truth itself. The Woke is also very anti-Israel. Why? Because Israel is a successful country. They side with the Arabs and the Palestinians on every issue. They will strongly support concessions to Iran. That's the 100% mindset.
Chinese President Xi Jinping. "China is the number one geopolitical threat to us," Photo: AP
"But Woke are also ridiculous things, like saying men can get pregnant, as they say. So the question is whether your company is truly rooted or not. The truth is that two plus two is four. But Woke bypasses education. The average student eventually becomes more dumb, the average family becomes less secure in its own communities, because places like San Francisco let criminals carry out their plot. You can rob someone's house and they won't charge you. So we're really fighting, here in Florida. We are fighting this and saying that sanity must be restored to this country, and normalcy to our communities and institutions."
Governor in the heart of the storm
According to his official biography, DeSantis grew up in a blue-collar family that immigrated to the United States from Italy. During his studies, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, including serving at Guantanamo Bay and with the Navy SEAL unit in Iraq. The experience he gained there led him to formulate very critical positions towards international law in general, and the court in The Hague in particular.
After his discharge from military service, he turned to a political career. In 2012, at the age of 33, he was elected to the Florida House of Representatives for the first time. Six years later, he decided to run for governor of Florida, one of the most electorally important states in the United States. The person who came to his aid and apparently brought about his victory was the president of the United States at the time, Donald Trump. Therefore, for Trump, DeSantis' run for president is considered treason.
Israel Hayom emissary Ariel Kahane and Ron DeSantis, photo: C.B. Lorch
DeSantis speaks and acts without hesitation on the most sacred taboo issue for his ideological opponents - the LGBT community. In his eyes, a normative family is a father, mother and children. In that conservative vein, DeSantis also passed a law banning abortions beyond six weeks into pregnancy — a position that many Republicans see as going too far. DeSantis, however, has defended his position, even criticizing Trump on the issue.
Even before that, DeSantis handled COVID-19 in a complete reversal of what the rest of the world was doing. He opposed lockdowns and masks, and didn't really push his residents to get vaccinated. When the world was closed, Florida opened. The result has been a large number of deaths in his state, but he argues that it is not COVID-19 that is the cause, but the huge elderly population living in Florida.
His positions and actions have made him a voodoo puppet of the Democrats and the mainstream media. For him, what he did in Florida should be the model for America as a whole, but to implement the model, DeSantis has a long way to go.
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