A somber U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., now running for the U.S. Senate, called out “militant Islam” on Saturday morning as he spoke in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Paris.
Speaking at the Republican Party of Florida’s (RPOF) Sunshine Summit, DeSantis spent much of his speech focused on the war against terrorism.
“We are in a conflict whether we like it or not,” DeSantis said, noting he served as an officer in the Navy and dealt with captured terrorists in Guantanamo Bay, calling them “unapologetic” and criticizing President Barack Obama’s international policies.
DeSantis continued on foreign policy, stressing his opposition to closing terrorist holding facilities in Guantanamo Bay, Obama’s deal with Iran over its nuclear program and the administration’s handling of the Benghazi attacks.
“We should have brought the people who did that to a swift justice and we did not do that,” DeSantis said about Obama’s handling of the Benghazi attacks before turning to immigration.
Referencing the Paris attacks, DeSantis said it showed why immigration needed to be brought under control. DeSantis also stressed his opposition to bringing in refugees from Syria.
“If you can not vet them then you should not bring them in,” DeSantis told the cheering crowd
DeSantis stressed his support for law enforcement and Israel, calling out Obama’s lack of support for both. Noting he remained in the reserves, DeSantis insisted morale was dropping in the military due to “political correctness” and noted the struggle to get the Obama administration to recognize the Ft. Hood attacks as an Islamic terrorist attack.
Keeping his fire against Obama, DeSantis insisted the president was “going around the Constitution” with his use of executive actions and said he would oppose a Republican president who pursued similar policies.
“If we have a Republican president who does that, I’m going to stand up to him too,” DeSantis said to cheers. “Our Constitution is more important than any political party.”
Besides a joking reference to U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., DeSantis ignored his Senate opposition. U.S. Rep. David Jolly, R-Fla., Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera and businessman and veteran Todd Wilcox are also running for the Republican nomination. Former Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum and conservative leader Dan Bongino have opened the door to entering the Republican Senate primary.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
