Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday dismissed the left’s current scare tactic of claiming that former President Donald Trump poses a threat to democracy.
The Republican governor instead countered that the issue with Trump was that he was not forceful enough with the constitutional power he had, including assisting the Jan. 6, 2021, rioters.
Appearing on the left-wing MSNBC show “Morning Joe,” DeSantis noted that while in office Trump did not do many things conservatives wanted him to do. That included building the wall along the Mexican border, firing Dr. Anthony Fauci, and reforming the Deep State.
Read: Florida Gov. DeSantis Calls On Iowa Voters To Reject Trump “Don’t Give The Media What They Want”
Liberal co-host Mika Brezezinski then asked DeSantis whether he was concerned about Trump’s recent statements about the J6 rioters, calling them “hostages.”
Speaking to a crowd in New Hampshire on Saturday, as reported by Newsmax, Trump noted the disparity in the treatment of the J6ers and the Black Lives Matter rioters from 2020.
Trump recalled BLM’s destructive torching of a Minneapolis police station at the time. “By the way, what happened to those people? Are those people in jail with the J6 hostages?” he said. “What happened to those people come to think of it. They’re not in jail with the J6 hostages. I don’t call them prisoners. I call them hostages. They’re hostages.”
Responding, DeSantis noted that Trump called the rally understanding that things could “potentially get out of hand,” and now says he would do “clemency” for J6ers charged with nonviolent crimes.
“He could have done that when he was president,” DeSantis argued. “On the people that were there just as protesters and got caught up in it, he could have granted clemency to them and he chose not to, because I think he was told that if he did that he could potentially risk being convicted at his Senate impeachment trial.”
Read: Florida Supreme Court Rejects Felon Gun Ban Challenge
“The idea that now he’s going to help people that were railroaded, he could have done that before he left office,” DeSantis added.
DeSantis also didn’t back down when leftist co-host Joe Scarborough asked the governor if he thought protesters were “railroaded.”
DeSantis replied that videos of the riot are clear, as law enforcement officers waved people into the Capitol during the unrest and they behaved like most tourists.
“Somebody that was there nonviolent, probably didn’t have intent to do anything when they showed up that day, he could have done things to potentially alleviate burdens on them and he didn’t,” he continued.
“Now he says he’s going to do it but he didn’t when he was president.”
Android Users, Click To Download The Free Press App And Never Miss A Story. Follow Us On Facebook and Twitter. Sign up for our free newsletter.
We can’t do this without your help. Visit our GiveSendGo page and donate any dollar amount; every penny helps.