DeSantis condemns Hamas, Iran for brutal Israel attacks

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis booked an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” before Hamas attacked Israel early Saturday, and the hostilities in the Middle East turned expected fireworks into a friendly give-and-take between the Governor and Joe Scarborough.

“This is perhaps Israel’s darkest hour,” DeSantis said, asserting the country’s “right to defend itself.”

“And that means do that to the hilt. You have to uproot the terrorist infrastructure. These networks and Hamas need to be no more,” DeSantis said.

The Governor said Hamas’ moves last weekend looked like an “orchestrated attack” against the country, noting that for him, there was a “personal” connection given that Iran also has “American blood on its hands.”

“Look, this is personal for me, in the sense that I served in Iraq in 2007, 2008. We were in places like Fallujah and Ramadi,” DeSantis said.

While the opposition was “mostly Sunni Arab al-Qaida fighters at the time,” DeSantis said, “most of the casualties that U.S. troops were suffering were at the hands of Iranian-backed Shia militias.”

DeSantis also expressed disappointment in modern-day Iraq.

“As a veteran of that conflict, it definitely leaves a bad taste in my mouth to see that that country is basically a satellite of the Iranians, and you have the Shia dominant, and they’ve not been the type of partner that people envisioned back in the day.”

Additionally, DeSantis defended his old political ally, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that he didn’t “buy” attacks and that his preoccupation with other issues left Israel vulnerable to the attack.

“With respect to Prime Minister Netanyahu, I was just out there in April, and I found him, I met with him, I found him to be very engaged,” DeSantis said. He credited the Likud leader with an “amazing … knowledge of everything going on in the region.”

DeSantis then returned to Surfside to roll out a legislative proposal dealing with Israel and Iran, including untrammeled support for the former and the “strongest sanctions” from “any state in this country” for the latter.

Behind placards proclaiming “Stand with Israel” and “Sanction Iran,” the 2024 presidential candidate described the latter country as a “clearing house for terrorist financing” and said it was necessary to “choke off” money going to the “Iranian regime.”

“Put them in their place. Do not let them get any money flowing into their coffers,” DeSantis advised.

“Never, ever should your tax dollars go to that despicable regime,” DeSantis said, expanding that critique to the Gaza Strip as well.

The Governor discussed his own emotions in the wake of the Hamas attacks, saying he was “sad” and “angry.”

“I think that we need justice, and I think that justice needs to be so severe that they wouldn’t think of doing this ever, ever again. And you can count on us to be a friend and ally of the state of Israel and the Jewish people.”

The Governor blasted the Joe Biden administration for deleting tweets calling for a de-escalation.

“Having the administration do anything other than a unified voice saying that Israel should be able to defend itself and that we support, that was honestly not surprising, but it’s still very disappointing,” DeSantis said.

“They should be talking about how it’s wrong to support policies that enrich the Iranian regime.”

Others spoke in support, including Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez, who pledged to “always make sure that special bond between Florida and Israel grows stronger every day” before criticizing Hamas and what she called their “war crimes.”

“These terrorists are motivated by hatred,” Nunez said, driven by a “total rejection of Israel’s right to exist.”

Nunez added that there is “no two-state solution” that Florida or Israel will accept.

“We will never do business or prop up terrorists or communists,” she added.

A.G. Gancarski has written for FloridaPolitics.com since 2014. He is based in Northeast Florida. He can be reached at AG@FloridaPolitics.com or on Twitter: @AGGancarski.