MANCHESTER, NH – During a visit to New Hampshire, Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would be a commander in chief who fully supports allies like Israel and takes dramatic steps to confront groups that harm Americans.
“We are being invaded by these cartels,” referring to drug traffickers in Mexico, DeSantis said during an Oct. 13 address at the Politics & Eggs speaker series at Saint Anselm College in Manchester. “They bring in poison and kill our people. So as commander in chief, you have the right to respond when American lives are taken.”
DeSantis also criticized the field’s front-runner, former President Donald Trump, for missing the two-day GOP First in the Nation summit sponsored by the New Hampshire Republican Party. All other candidates were present.
“Republicans need to stop making excuses,” DeSantis said. “We will not get a mulligan in the 2024 election. Either we’re going to do our job, we’re going to be able to find a better way for this country, or we’re going to get on with it.” Let’s dig ourselves deeper and deeper into a hole.
If Trump wins the nomination, DeSantis said, “I believe there will be negative electoral impacts that will make it very difficult to hold the House.”
DeSantis also said Trump should not criticize Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Israel’s security lapses after the Hamas attacks.
With Israel now at war with Hamas in Gaza, “you don’t treat an ally like that,” DeSantis said. “I wouldn’t treat an ally like that.”
Here are a few things DeSantis said in Manchester, along with our fact checks.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks to an audience at St. Anselm College as part of the Politics & Eggs speaker series. (Louis Jacobson/PolitiFact)
Business
Inflation “was induced by the government through (Joe Biden’s) response to COVID, which was a complete disaster by borrowing and printing trillions and millions of dollars and pretending that it wouldn’t cause disruption in the economy.”
Biden’s economic response accelerated inflation, but there were other factors too.
Economists say the Biden-backed American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 worsened inflation by putting more money in Americans’ hands after the pandemic began to subside; This meant too much money chasing too few goods.
However, it was initially COVID-19-related labor market disruptions and supply chain difficulties that drove inflation higher. The war in Ukraine, which began in February 2022, led to a rise in gasoline prices and also increased inflation.
In Florida, “we have the second lowest per capita tax burden in the country.”
That’s what some analyzes say.
There are different ways to calculate a state’s tax burden. A ranking supporting DeSantis’ claim was conducted by USAFacts, a nonprofit that reports government data. Using 2020 data, the organization ranked Florida as the second-highest tax burden state.
Tax rates in Florida are relatively low, but a leading measure of state tax burdens – published annually by the Tax Foundation – ranked Florida as having the 11th lowest tax burden of all states. Alaska and Wyoming ranked 1st and 2nd.
But regardless of the method, Florida scores relatively low on its tax burden in commonly cited studies.
Drugs
“I believe Florida is the only state in the country where overdose deaths have actually decreased.”
We asked DeSantis’ campaign where he got the data but didn’t hear back.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Florida saw a slight increase in total overdose deaths between 2020 and 2021, from 7,231 to 7,827.
The vast majority of states also saw increases over the same period, with the exception of Hawaii and Maryland, which saw nominal declines; and Nebraska, which showed the same number.
“We had a situation in Florida, a family was renting an Airbnb unit and an 18-month-old baby was crawling on the carpet. There happened to be residue of fentanyl from the previous tenant, and the baby died just from contact with that fentanyl.
That’s what a March lawsuit alleges.
Enora Lavenir, a 19-month-old daughter who was visiting Wellington, Florida, died on August 7, 2021, at an Airbnb rental where her family was staying.
The Palm Beach County coroner’s office determined the toddler died of acute fentanyl toxicity, NBC News reported when the lawsuit was filed. The family, visiting from France, filed a wrongful death lawsuit saying the Florida property had been used for parties in the past.
NBC News reported that a sheriff’s incident report shows investigators interviewed the previous tenant, who said cocaine and marijuana were used during his stay, but not fentanyl. The sheriff’s office said the death was ruled accidental and the case was closed.
Attorneys for the previous tenant and property owner named in the lawsuit told NBC they denied fault and alleged negligence on the part of the parents or others who were on the property, such as children. B. Cleaning staff.
Florida “ranked third and fourth in fourth-grade reading and fourth-grade math, respectively.”
That’s true, according to the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress results.
Known as the nation’s report card, NAEP tests fourth and eighth graders in key academic subjects. The 2022 report, the first since the COVID-19 pandemic, found that Florida fourth-graders ranked third and fourth in the U.S. in average reading and math scores.
DeSantis said the results are because his administration is “fully invested” in parental choice. But the bigger picture shows that some of these test results have worsened since his time as governor, while others have remained the same.
In 2017, the year before DeSantis won his first semester, Florida fourth-graders had an average reading score of 228. In 2019, that dropped to 225, where it remained in the 2022 assessment. The NAEP states that changes above or below 0.05 are “statistically significant.” These values are considered below “competence” – but are above the national average, which fell to 216 in 2022.
In math, fourth graders in Florida had an average score of 246 in 2017. This remained the same in 2019, but fell to 241 in 2022. These levels are also considered below average, but are above the national average.
Overall, Florida performed better than many other states. The report showed significant declines in math and reading proficiency affecting students in every state and region, with academic progress deemed largely derailed due to disruptions from the pandemic.
“Florida is currently ranked #1 for economy on CNBC. Ranked #1 for Education by US News and World Report.”
He’s right about CNBC, and partly right about US News and World Report.
In July, CNBC ranked Florida number one among states that “have the best economies.”
U.S. News and World Report ranked Florida No. 1 in higher education but 14th in pre-K through 12th grade education. Florida’s combined rating for the two categories ranked 10th overall among states.
The college rankings were based on several factors, including the share of citizens with college degrees, college graduation rates, the cost of in-state tuition, and student debt burdens.
PolitiFact Editor-in-Chief Matthew Crowley contributed to this report.
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