OPINION:
Our greatest ally in the Middle East is under attack, and our ruling class has been in complete disarray. The House of Representatives hasn’t had a Speaker for weeks. Pro-Hamas protests have popped up across the country. The Biden administration slow-walked its feet, rescuing Americans in danger. Now they’re mulling sending aid to Gaza – essentially flushing Hamas with cash – while the Iranian-backed terrorists still hold American hostages.
The Establishment wasted no time in crafting an agenda to put Americans last.
But amidst a leadership vacuum, Ron DeSantis stepped up to show DC what leadership in action looks like. He signed an executive order to mobilize airlifts for the thousands of Americans trapped in Israel. While some like Adam Kinzinger mocked the action, just days later, Mr. DeSantis and his family greeted 270 Americans, 91 children and 4 dogs on a tarmac in Tampa, Florida. Ron DeSantis refused to sit on the sidelines and pulled “DeSantis Airlines” together to rescue the people he serves.
While the Biden administration floats aid proposals to Hamas, Mr. DeSantis was the first to demand that “Biden should work with Israel to free all American and Israeli hostages, not shower Hamas with money.” Mr. DeSantis also looked forward, knowing the left would use this crisis as an excuse to import refugees with toxic, anti-American ideology, and led the Republican field standing in firm opposition to accepting refugees with ties to terrorists.
The U.S. absolutely should not absorb Gaza refugees. Neighboring Arab nations should open their borders to them instead, as Hamas rules Gaza, and there is no effective way to vet individuals who may be relocated from an area governed by a terrorist regime. Gaza teaches their children to hate America and prepares their kids to commit terrorist attacks against Jews and Christians.
Mr. DeSantis planted a flag in the ground to put Americans first. While every Republican presidential candidate should be willing to say exactly what Ron DeSantis said, Nikki Haley couldn’t agree initially.
What did Nikki Haley have to say about Mr. DeSantis’ protecting Americans through common-sense refugee policy? Ms. Haley sided with the mainstream media and wouldn’t rule out taking Gaza refugees into the American heartland. She said that many of those in Palestine “want to be free from this terrorist rule,” “America has always been sympathetic to the fact that you can separate civilians from terrorists,” and “that’s what we have to do.”
Nikki Haley thinks she knows better than the American people because of her two years at the decidedly anti-Israel United Nations, but allowing Gaza refugees to be resettled in the United States is a clear national security threat. She had the chance to agree with Mr. DeSantis on a very straightforward America First policy and didn’t take it.
Mr. DeSantis ripped her tepid response, leaving the door open for importing anti-American refugees saying that, “She’s trying to be politically correct. She’s trying to please the media and people on the left, I don’t care about that. I’m gonna speak the truth and let the chips fall where they may.”
Only after swift, severe backlash is Ms. Haley trying to walk back her position. The thing is: You don’t get do-overs as president. When Ron DeSantis says something, he means it. He doesn’t mince words. He leads and delivers. This is the kind of leadership we need in the next White House.
- Josh Kimbrell has served as a member of the South Carolina Senate from the 11th District since his 2020 election.
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