Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said during an interview from Japan this week that the U.S. needs a strong leader to confront an increasingly aggressive communist China.
DeSantis made the remarks during a Fox News interview with host Sean Hannity when asked about his international trade mission overseas this week. DeSantis said that he is preparing to sign legislation that will bar China from buying land in Florida.
“If you look at what [Chinese dictator] Xi Jinping has done, he is on the move around the world,” DeSantis said. “And I think the fact that Biden has been very weak on the world stage is emboldening them to do even more.”
DeSantis said the key to stopping China from taking Taiwan was the U.S. needs a leader that projects strength.
“I think we have someone like Xi Jinping, he responds to strength,” he said. “And I think clearly, we don’t have a lot of strength under Biden. But I think fortifying our forces in the Pacific, I think we need more naval strength to be able to project power. And we cannot allow the CCP to produce every critical part of our economy. We rely on them for almost everything, we need to bring that back to America so we’re producing it here in the United States. And we’re not at the whim of the Communist Chinese.”
The 44-year-old governor said that Biden’s weakness has brought the world to the brink of a “very, very dangerous situation” regarding China.
When asked about when he might make a presidential announcement, DeSantis said that no announcements will be made until after Florida’s legislative session ends in a couple of weeks.
“We’re going to be putting up a lot of wins on the board,” he said. “So I’m not going to be making any announcements before that’s concluded.”
DeSantis shrugged off recent attacks from onetime ally and possible future GOP primary opponent former President Trump.
“And I always had a good relationship with him,” DeSantis said. “And then once the midterm election happened, he started taking shots at me, I didn’t really do anything … except do a good job. But that’s fine. I mean, Sean, you know, when you’re making things happen, you take incoming from a variety of targets. So that’s just the nature of the business. And I’m happy to stand strong and do what’s right.”