DeSantis Debunks Cubans-to-Delaware Claims: ‘I’ve Always Supported Cubans’

TALLAHASSEE (FLV) – Democrat Charlie Crist, running to defeat Gov. Ron DeSantis in Nov.’s election, released a new ad weaponizing remarks from Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez saying the governor will “send them, frankly speaking, to Delaware,” speaking of illegal immigrants.

Crist’s campaign twisted those words to claim she and the governor are referring to Cubans fleeing to South Florida.

“We learn from Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez, a daughter of Cuban exiles, that Ron DeSantis wants to put Cubans who came here fleeing from communism and seeking freedom on a list so he can expel them from our state,” the new ad says.

Nuñez addressed these claims before the ad was released, referencing DeSantis’ vows from months ago that he would “send illegal immigrants dumped in Florida to states like Delaware.”

“Entering the country illegally and fleeing a dictatorship to seek asylum are two different things, and misrepresenting that is offensive,” she said in a statement.

At a press gaggle in Aug., DeSantis clarified the statements to a reporter.

“Do you think it is the right thing to allow those Cubans who come in across the southern border to remain here in the country?” DeSantis is asked.

“So here’s the problem… Obviously, I’ve always supported Cubans […] Cuba will not accept them back, and so if you take them from the border and you take somebody from Colombia, or some place in Africa, you send them back and the country will accept,” he said. “You saw that boat that came up off the shore […] you know, these are desperate people.”

“We view Cuba as different from some of the others because […] we have been the first port of entry when people come to southern Florida,” he said. On Joe Biden’s policies, he explained, “I don’t think that justifies Biden’s border policies. The proper policy is to not have an open border to begin with… He came in and he opened the border.”