Ron DeSantis issues scathing response to Democrat accusing him of human trafficking
A Democratic congressman accused Ron DeSantis of human trafficking, and the Florida governor issued a scathing response.
Many on the left have used the accusation of human trafficking to criticize Republican governors relocating migrants to cities and locales ostensibly declaring their support for migrants.
On Tuesday, Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York served up the familiar insult against DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, also a Republican.
"They should start behaving like governors and stop behaving like human traffickers," said Jeffries to reporters. "They are putting politics over people in the most egregious way possible."
He went on to say the two Republican governors' actions were "radical, reckless, regressive and reprehensible."
When told about the Democrat's comments during a media briefing later that day, DeSantis fired right back at Jeffries and other Democrats.
"When [President Joe] Biden is flying these people all over the fruited plain in the middle of the night, I didn't hear a peep out of those people! OK? I didn't hear a peep!" said DeSantis to large applause.
"I haven't heard a peep about all the people that have been told by Biden that you can just come in, and they're going, they're being abused by the cartels, they're drowning in the Rio Grande. You had fifty [migrants] that died in some shed in the middle of Texas," he continued.
"I heard no outrage about any of that!" DeSantis said.
"I haven't heard any outrage about all the fentanyl that's come across the border, that's killing Americans in record numbers. I don't hear outrage about the criminal aliens that have gotten through and have then victimized people not only in Florida but all throughout the country. I didn't hear any outrage about that," he added.
"The only thing I hear them getting upset about is you have 50 [migrants] that end up in Martha's Vineyard," DeSantis concluded. "Then they get really upset!"
Officials in Martha's Vineyard scrambled to provide housing and meals for the migrants who arrived at the vacation island. After only two days, they arranged for the migrants to be bused out to a shelter set up at a military base in Cape Cod.
A criminal investigation was opened into DeSantis for sending the 48 migrants to Martha's Vineyard.
Here's more about the Martha's Vineyard migrant controversy:
Criminal investigation opened into Gov. DeSantis' migrant flights to Martha's Vineyardwww.youtube.com