EXCLUSIVE: DeSantis: Israel Needs To Use ‘Overwhelming Force’; U.S. Needs To ‘Turn The Screws’ On Iran

Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis said that the U.S. needs to constantly be “turning the screws” on the Islamic Republic of Iran after Iranian-backed Palestinian terrorists launched widespread attacks throughout Israel on Saturday, resulting in deaths of hundreds of innocent civilians.

Approximately 300 Israelis, mostly civilians, were killed from the attacks and nearly 2,000 more have been confirmed to be injured. Those numbers are expected to continue rising as the attacks happened simultaneously throughout the country and some communities were completely overtaken by Hamas.

“I think the most important thing is that we remain unequivocal in that we’re united as a country in saying, ‘Israel not only has a right to defend itself, they have a duty to defend themselves to the hilt by using overwhelming force,’ because what’s happened for really decades is there will be terrorism against Israel, they will respond, but it’s always Israel gets attacked for responding,” DeSantis told The Daily Wire in an exclusive interview. “And so they face all these constraints, getting condemned by the U.N., Europeans, all these different things and we just have to be willing to stand with them and say they have to deal with the problem of Hamas.”

The 45-year-old Florida governor called Hamas’ targeting of women and children “evil, evil stuff” and that the only appropriate response involved using “overwhelming force against” the terrorists.

DeSantis slammed President Joe Biden loosening sanctions on Iran and for unfreezing $6 billion in Iranian oil revenues last month, saying that it doesn’t matter if those exact funds were used to finance this attack because money is fungible “so that $6 billion is used for other things, it frees up money that Iran was going to spend” on other things.

DeSantis warned about the $6 billion payment to Iran two months ago in early August, a month before former President Donald Trump posted a similar warning in mid-September.

Biden is shamefully caving to Iran’s blackmail and extortion. Rewarding Iran for taking Americans hostage incentivizes more hostage-taking.

The $6 billion ransom payment will help Iran build nuclear weapons, support terrorism, oppress the Iranian people, and assist Russia.…

— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) August 10, 2023

“I think that you need to turn the screws on Iran always, not just in response to this, that should have been what happened for Biden’s whole presidency, he should have turned the screws on them, because them getting a financial lifeline, whether it’s through their oil, whether it’s through some of the things that Biden’s done, that will be used for bad purposes,” DeSantis told The Daily Wire. “It’s a terrorist regime. That’s what they’re going to do. So yes, I would turn the screws on them with every mechanism that we have, I’d make sure that they’re in a box and make it very difficult for them to operate with respect to advancing terrorism in the region.”

DeSantis pointed out that, if adjusted for population size, the terrorist attacks against Israel were “equivalent of multiple 9/11s,” and that the attacks were “a mark in history”.

“That region will never be the same as a result of this,” he said. “And Israel will never be the same as a result of this. And so we’ll be standing by, they’re a great ally, they’re a great friend. When I’m president, we’ll definitely have an ironclad relationship, and that’ll be good for U.S., it’ll be good for Israel, and it’ll be good for the Middle East.”

He also said that the state of Florida has “activated” measures to ensure that the Jewish community is safe, although they have not made any announcements because there was no active threat and they did not want to cause any unnecessary worry for residents.

He also said touted Florida’s history of collaborating with Israel and said that the state stands ready to provide assistance to Israel after Israel sent the IDF to help Florida with its search and rescue operation when the Surfside Tower collapsed in June 2021.

‘Somebody’s Off The Meds’: Jennifer Rubin Blames GOP For Hamas Attack, Gets Roasted

Washington Post blogger Jennifer Rubin took some serious backlash on Saturday after she suggested in an X post that the GOP was somehow responsible for creating the conditions that led to Hamas’ unprovoked attack on Israel.

Rubin appeared to be lashing out at Republicans, many of whom had suggested that President Joe Biden’s failures in foreign policy — particularly the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and the recent deal freeing up $6 billion in Iranian oil money — had ultimately led to the attack on Israel, a close ally.

“How about this: With US House in chaos and US military promotions on hold, Hamas struck. Republicans’ weakness invites terror,” Rubin posted.

How about this: With US House in chaos and US military promotions on hold, Hamas struck. Republicans' weakness invites terror.

— Jennifer Truthful, Not Neutral Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) October 7, 2023

“You seriously think this operation was planned in a week and that the principal variables in the decision were Hamas’s fear of Kevin McCarthy & some US generals not getting promoted?” Dan McLaughlin posted.

“Yeah, those young angry men half a world away were just waiting for our House of Representatives to be leaderless over a holiday weekend in order to take action,” another posted. “How about this: You’re an idiot.”

Yeah, those young angry men half a world away were just waiting for our House of Representatives to be leaderless over a holiday weekend in order to take action.

How about this: You're an idiot. https://t.co/tM6x5SsV3q

— Leslie McAdoo Gordon 🇺🇸 (@McAdooGordon) October 7, 2023

“Hamas struck because someone didn’t get another gold star?” Margot Cleveland wondered.

“Somebody’s off the meds,” added Real Clear Politics co-founder and president Tom Bevan.

Somebody’s off the meds. https://t.co/4k0fPH3z4K

— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) October 7, 2023

“The crap is wrong with you? First of all, Hamas was not sitting around waiting for the GOP to do a song and dance to start a blood-lust hatred for the Jews,” @Artist_Angie posted. “And 2nd of all if ANYONE showed weakness it was Joe ‘Let’s leave a crap ton of military equipment in Afghanistan and flee’ Biden.”

The crap is wrong with you?
First of all, Hamas was not sitting around waiting for the GOP to do a song and dance to start a blood-lust hatred for the Jews.

And 2nd of all if ANYONE showed weakness it was Joe 'Let's leave a crap ton of military equipment in Afghanistan and… https://t.co/bkBoYpDKnr

— Artist_Angie: Sensei of Sarcasm (@Artist_Angie) October 7, 2023

“You are a heinous traitor to your people,” Ben Domenech said.

“Look, I’m no Republican and the fact that military promotions are on hold is horrific, but Hamas definitely doesn’t care. And as someone who actually worked with Mossad and Shin Bet, they don’t either,” former CIA and FBI agent Tracy Walder said.

Look, I’m no Republican and the fact that military promotions are on hold is horrific, but Hamas definitely doesn’t care. And as someone who actually worked with Mossad and Shin Bet, they don’t either

— Tracy Walder (@tracy_walder) October 7, 2023

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