Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Slams Joe Biden’s ‘Posture of Weakness’ for Presence of Russian Warships Off Florida’s Coast, Says Adversaries Will Not Be Deterred ‘By a President Wandering Around Aimlessly at the G7’ (Video)
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis held a news conference to discuss the appearance of Russian warships in Cuban waters and blamed Joe Biden’s ‘posture of weakness’ for allowing it to happen.
Last week, Russian state-run media announced a group of four ships, including a frigate and a nuclear-powered submarine, would be making a port call in Havana between June 12 and June 17.
The Pentagon deployed three Navy destroyers and maritime patrol aircraft this week to keep tabs on a group of Russian ships that conducted missile exercises and reportedly got within 30 miles of the Florida coast.
“In accordance with standard procedure, we’ve been actively monitoring the Russian ships as they transit the Atlantic Ocean within international waters,” a defense official, who spoke on the condition his name not be used, told Military.com in an emailed statement Wednesday.
The official added that “air and maritime assets under U.S. Northern Command have conducted operations to ensure the defense of the United States and Canada,” but wouldn’t elaborate on what those assets were. Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh also wasn’t able to offer specifics at a briefing to reporters Wednesday.
On Friday outside Hollywood Fire Rescue Station 5, Governor DeSantis said, “Well, I’m the governor of Florida, I’m not the Commander in Chief. If my responsibilities were different – that would not be something that we would allow to be happening.”
“I think it’s really concerning. I think that under this administration, they put out a posture of weakness that has invited more aggressive actions from our adversaries.”
“Now, Russia, this isn’t their first foray into the Western Hemisphere, obviously, if you look through history, but I think the amount of activity among hostile nations in our own hemisphere is probably at a level that we have not seen in many, many years. And if you look at how the governments of this hemisphere are constituted, now, most of them are more aligned with the Russians and the Chinas, unfortunately, than with the United States and the free world.”
“And so I think it is problematic. I think that history has shown that these bad actors, they respond to strength and they’re deterred by strength. They are not going to be deterred by weakness. They’re not going to be deterred by confusion; they’re not going to be deterred by a president wandering around aimlessly at the G7.”
“They’re going to be deterred because they know that that’s not somebody that you want to mess with. So we’re failing as a country with the deterrent capability. And I think it starts at the top with the President of the United States.”
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