‘Will Build Wall, Trump Got Distracted’: Ron DeSantis Talks Tough on Border Crisis
Republican presidential candidate DeSantis who is behind Donald Trump in polls said Trump got distracted from his promise to build a border wall.
Republican presidential candidate and Florida governor Ron DeSantis said he will build the border wall and make it legal for law enforcement officers stationed at the border to shoot at drug smugglers.
Ron DeSantis, who is lagging behind Donald Trump in the polls, said the former president, who made making the border wall his topmost priority during the campaign and after getting elected, was distracted from the issue.
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“I am going to build the border wall. I will get the job done. The talk is cheap and I’m sick of Republicans always using this issue every election cycle to try to get donations. We are going to bring the issue to a conclusion," DeSantis told Jake Tapper at the CNN Town Hall event hosted by the broadcaster.
DeSantis also said that he will legalise shooting of drug smugglers trying to push drugs into the United States. “The drug cartels are invading our country and poisoning our people and killing our people by the tens of thousands. Not only do you have the right as president, you have a responsibility to fight back on behalf of the people of this country," DeSantis said.
The CNN Town Hall was being broadcast from Iowa, an important state for both Republicans and Democrats. The American state may represent a small proportion of the American electorate but it has held the first presidential nominating contests in the country since 1972.
However, despite DeSantis’ tough talk on the border issue Iowans are more likely to vote for Donald Trump. The Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll showed that 51% of Republicans will pick Trump as their first choice for US President.
Trump recorded a 7% spike in two months. In October, polls showed 43% of Iowans would back the former president. DeSantis polled at 19%, ranking second in the polls.
It is unclear if DeSantis promises to resolve the border crisis, which has turned into a humanitarian issue, will earn him the presidential nomination. The US border officials have removed and returned more migrants between June to October 2023 than they have in any previous full fiscal year.
The number of migrants who crossed the border unlawfully in September crossed 200,000 and has risen steadily since. The migrants from all over the world cross thousands of kilometres, fall sick and even die while trying to enter the US. Once they enter the US, they face problems because several cities – both Democrat and Republican-ruled – are struggling to accommodate them, leaving them to the mercy of aid organisations and agencies.
(with inputs from Axios and NBC)
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