Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Saturday that he would close down the southern border to restore order, just days after the lifting of Title 42 has unleashed chaos there \u2014 and urged President Biden to \u201cput us in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019d shut down the border immediately \u2014 why are we letting this happen? It\u2019s hurting people. You deserve to have a secure border, you deserve to have a rule of law,\u201d he told a packed audience in Sioux Center, Iowa, where he attended Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra\u2019s 3rd annual Family Picnic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDon\u2019t tell me foreigners can just decide to come across the border when they want to. We decide who comes into this country as Americans. We have every right to have that border secured and not have this disaster unfolding,\u201d DeSantis said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adding that drugs are \u201cpouring\u201d into the US, the governor said both Mexican cartels and the country\u2019s government must be held accountable \u201cfor allowing a lot of this to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taking a shot at President Biden, DeSantis said, \u201cWe\u2019ll get cracking on this wall, Joe. Put us in, we\u2019ll get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The governor touted the ways his \u201cmaritime border state\u201d has dealt with the crisis, including banning sanctuary cities and providing state personnel to help the Coast Guard combat migrant vessels attempting to reach the Sunshine State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSince August, we\u2019ve repatriated over 12,000 illegal aliens back to Haiti and some of these countries. And guess what happens? They stop coming. We don\u2019t have as many boats coming,\u201d DeSantis said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though he has not formally declared his candidacy, the Florida governor is widely expected to launch a campaign for president in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His Iowa speech, an early stump draft, was full of tough talk on red meat issues, which will animate the approaching primary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is wrong for a teacher to instruct a student that they were born in the wrong body or that their gender is a choice. We should not have transgender ideology in our schools,\u201d DeSantis said while highlighting his own accomplishments on the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is wrong for physicians to perform sex change operations on minors,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is a barbaric practice, and in Florida, we put a stop to it. Physicians that try to do it will not only be held accountable in terms of statute \u2014 they are going to lose their medical license in our state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DeSantis\u2019 key rival for the GOP nomination is former President Trump, who also planned to be in Iowa for a rally Saturday before canceling it due to severe weather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though he did not name Trump directly in his speech, DeSantis pointedly alluded to him and urged the party to look to the \u201cfuture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe must reject the culture of losing that has infected our party in recent years, that time for excuses is over. We\u2019ve got to demonstrate the courage to lead and the strength to win,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf we do that, if we make the 2024 election a referendum on Joe Biden and his failures \u2026 if we get distracted, or if we focus the election on the past or on other side issues, then I think the Democrats are going to beat us again. And I think it\u2019ll be very difficult to recover from that defeat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The governor\u2019s Iowa appearance, the first of two in the Hawkeye State Saturday, follows pro-DeSantis super PAC \u201cNever Back Down\u201d announcing that 37 endorsements from Republicans in the state\u2019s House and Senate on Friday, including Senate President Amy Sinclair and House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe support in Iowa for Gov. Ron DeSantis to jump in the race and be our next president is overflowing \u2013 as shown by this historic list, which is the largest number of endorsements from Iowa legislators at this stage of a GOP primary in modern memory,\u201d Communications Director Erin Perrine said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n