Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Thursday that he had signed an executive order reaffirming his previously stated support for Israel, which also cleared the way for rescue flights for Floridians trapped in Israel as well as deliveries of supplies to the country.
DeSantis said that a “state of emergency” existed in Florida because Jewish people were being threatened by Hamas and Hamas sympathizers at home and abroad, and they wanted to return home, but couldn’t.
DeSantis tweeted that help was on its way for Floridians stuck in Israel.
Adam Kinzinger, a disgraced and alleged Republican former congressman, was among those who laughed at DeSantis’ announcement. He tweeted the following:
“You are a governor. You don’t have any power. ”
DeSantis, however, shared a video three days later of himself standing in Florida in front of an airplane full of passengers who had arrived that evening at Tampa Airport.
“We are here at the Tampa Airport. Our first flight is rescuing people from Israel. Over 260 people who wanted to return to the United States but couldn’t make it have now landed. We stepped in and took the lead because there was no leadership. We are happy to be able to deliver on that. We’re getting them ready to come back to America.”
Watch:
We are getting ready to welcome hundreds of people who were stuck in Israel back to the United States of America. pic.twitter.com/4gYyDI09DK
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) October 16, 2023
Some Florida-based journalists like Marc Caputo are billing the flights as being part of “DeSantis Airlines” which has a rather nice ring.
Update: A source told me that 300 Americans were flown out from Tel Aviv by “DeSantis Airlines”. “They’re expected to arrive at Tampa International Airport tonight, where they will be met by the Governor & FL First Lady as they step off their plane.”
Caputo reported that a source said 75% of the Americans aboard the flight were from Florida.
Project Dynamo was the group that rescued stranded Americans. It describes itself on Twitter as a “coalition of veterans and civilians, committed to evacuation of Americans.” We are a non-profit 501c3 organization with no government funding.
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
Project DYNAMO 🤝 @GovRonDeSantis
We safely evacuated 270 Americans out of the Israel war-zones and back to the U.S. last night thanks to the help from our Governor! Massive shoutout to him and the team. https://t.co/lYmgsjm7GZ
— Project Dynamo Official (@Project_Dynamo1) October 16, 2023
Well done, you guys did a great job.
Adam Kinzinger has not corrected himself yet, 16 hours after the arrival of the flight was announced. He is a brave man. It must be difficult to always be wrong.
