While the White House dithered around, sending Americans trapped in Israel to Cyprus and other foreign locations, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis cut through the bureaucratic red tape to fly nearly 300 Floridians home to safety on Sunday.
Last week, just five days after the attack on Israel, which left thousands dead and injured, DeSantis signed an executive order “authorizing rescue operations in Israel to bring Floridians home,” according to his X post on Oct. 12. “We will not leave our residents behind. To the many Floridians who are stuck in Israel, trying to get home—help is on the way.”
Late Sunday night, he delivered on that promise, flying 179 adults, 91 children, and two dogs to Tampa, Fla., from the war zone.
Astounding that a presidential candidate is getting more done on a critical issue that affects lives than the real president. Kudos to Ron DeSantis for showing effective leadership in a time of crisis.
pic.twitter.com/TVo5RLQ0IK— Scott Morefield (@SKMorefield) October 16, 2023
It was an emotional homecoming for many of the Floridians.
Chaim Gobioff told the “Today” show at the airport that their family had spent most of last week huddled in a bomb shelter. “So in a physical sense, we are very grateful that we are here. We are very blessed that we had a governor, we have a Hashem [God] who got us here. God took care of everything.”
“These kids are having to dodge rockets,” DeSantis told reporters at the airport. “These kids are having terrorists come after them. That’s not the way the world should be.”
The DeSantis administration worked with Project Dynamo to rescue those stranded after most commercial flights from Israel to the U.S. were canceled in the wake of the horrific attack.
Project Dynamo CEO Bryan Stern said at the airport, “I can’t thank the governor enough. His team has been great—different parts of the Florida state machine.”
“This is our fourth war zone deployment in 24 months,” he said. “Five if you count Maui, six if you count Hurricane Ian, 602 missions, and this is the first time an American politician, a lawmaker, has ever met us… It just means so much for us. Usually we just show up and there’s nothing. There’s no welcome home, there’s nothing.”
The man who made it happen!
A plane with 270 American passengers, including 91 kids, flew in from Israel to the United States and was greeted by Governor DeSantis and his family.#DeSantis2024 #DeSantisDelivers @GovRonDeSantis @JayCollinsFL pic.twitter.com/NC14YRVnf6
— Unconventional Patriot🇺🇸♠️🦅 (@jso_patriot) October 16, 2023
Governor Ron DeSantis, his wife and their children on the tarmac to greet the Americans evacuated from Israel after they get off the plane.
This mission was funded by the State of Florida through FLSERT after his executive order.— The Daily Sneed™ (@Tr00peRR) October 16, 2023
Athena Thorne noted last week that part of the impetus for DeSantis’s order was inaction by the Biden administration.
Many, including former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (a CNN contributor, of course), had criticized DeSantis’s executive order last week, claiming that it was nothing more than a publicity stunt for the presidential candidate and that he didn’t have the authority to execute such an operation.
It’s no surprise that a Swamp Creature like Kinzinger would just throw up his hands and say, “Can’t be done!” and leave Americans in harm’s way—like Joe Biden did with Americans stranded in Afghanistan after his disastrous withdrawal. DeSantis, on the other hand, found a way to get the job done. When Americans are in danger, there’s no time to wait around for our dysfunctional Congress or some regulatory agency to sign off on every jot and tittle. Get the Americans home. Period.
Americans who took the Biden administration up on its offer to help evacuate from Israel were, unfortunately, dumped in Cyprus, Athens, or Germany and warned that they would need to pay for the transportation costs and find their own way back to the U.S., which Lincoln Brown wrote about last week. They were required to sign promissory notes agreeing to repay the U.S. government for travel costs.
US nationals wishing to escape Israel by ship must sign a promissory note to repay the US government for the cost of the seafaring journey to Cyprus pic.twitter.com/rHIy0uqoZk
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) October 16, 2023
UPDATE: STATE DEPARTMENT PROVIDES AMERICANS STUCK IN ISRAEL WITH (LITTLE) MORE DETAIL, REITERATES THEY WILL HAVE TO PAY AND ARE AGAIN ON THEIR OWN ONCE THEY GET DUMPED IN CYPRUS, GREECE, OR GERMANY. https://t.co/Trs1EOylYa pic.twitter.com/JBopXJ9Qfv
— The Meturgeman (@HaMeturgeman) October 12, 2023
Joe Biden spent the weekend in Delaware again, while DeSantis demonstrated leadership, compassion, and initiative. The airlifts are expected to continue until all Floridians are safely evacuated from Israel.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member