WATCH: That Viral Clip of DeSantis Ripping Trump Is 5 Years Old — Here’s the Rest of It
An unsourced clip of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ripping former President Donald Trump over his relationship with Putin has gone viral — almost six years after DeSantis made the comments.
Former Republican and current Twitter video influencer Ron Filipkowski recently posted a clip of DeSantis with the caption “Desantis criticizes Trump’s cozy relationship with Putin: ‘Trump was very positive about Putin. I think that reality has set in that this is not going to work out that way, and you’re better off dealing with Putin by being strong.’”
The clip has racked up hefty engagement in a short amount of time, probably by virtue of the fact that DeSantis is seen as the only Republican with any chance of beating Trump in the 2024 GOP primary, if recent polls are any indication, and if DeSantis can somehow clear the rest of the field.
Filipkowski’s video is from an appearance by then-Congressman DeSantis on Monday, April 17, 2017 at Embry University. Moderator Marc Bernier asked DeSantis about Trump’s comments that it would be “a great thing if we could actually get along with Russia.”
Here’s the full exchange:
MARC BERNIER: A lot of people are wondering where we are with the Russians after the Syrian situation. They’re not happy with us. The president had talked about how it would be good to get along with Russia and it confused some people. So where do you think we’re going with Russia?
RON DESANTIS: Well, this idea that, like, it would be good to get along with Russia. Yeah, it’d be good to get along with anybody. But you got to understand, when you’re dealing with somebody like Vladimir Putin, he does not see the world the same way that we see the world. He views the biggest tragedy in the 20th century to be the fall of Soviet communism and the evil empire. That was something that was responsible for enslaving millions of people. Millions died on the watch of communism. And yet he thinks that’s a tragedy. He wants to reconstitute the Russian empire.
And so what you see with him in a place like Syria and I think some of the administration’s message about, oh, does Putin really want to be on the side of Assad and these unsavory characters? Honestly, I don’t think he cares about that.
What he sees in the Middle East is a chance to project power. He has access to a warm water port on the Mediterranean. He has the ability to launch aircraft in the region. And that brings him one step closer to having a mighty expansive Russia. And so I think that he’s been a threat for a long time.
You know, Clinton tried to work with him. Bush tried to work with him. Obama tried to reset. Trump was very positive about Putin. And I think that reality has set in that this is not going to work out that way, and you’re better off dealing with Putin by being strong. I mean, we’ve tried to deal with some of this in the Congress a couple of years ago. We authorized lethal aid for Ukraine so that they could resist some of the Russian incursion. The Obama administration fought us on that. But I think that’s the type of thing when Putin sees he can gain an inch, he’s actually apt to take a mile. And basically, if America’s not going to give him any pushback, I think he’s going to continue to try to expand Russian influence.
Watch above via The Embry-Riddle Speaker Series.
