Ron DeSantis: What Biden is saying is 'ludicrous'

President Biden's re-election may be in jeopardy as he deals with an impeachment inquiry, his son Hunter's indictment, a historic autoworker strike, and growing concerns over his age. Some in his own party seem to be turning on him as the candidate of choice for the Democrats for 2024. Let's bring in Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis for more on all of this. Governor, great to see you. Thank you for stopping by. I appreciate it. It's good to be here. This is a first for our program. We have not had you on before. Well, thanks. So it could be said that it's Joe Biden's horrible, terrible, no good, very bad week. This is something you try to avoid if you become the chief executive of this country. Your thoughts about where he is on this day? Well, first, you have just him bumbling around, really struggling. It's clear his age is showing. That's kind of a symbol, I think, of the country's decline and how we're really struggling across economy, culture, military strength. And then you have the substance of his policies. John, I'm going around talking with voters across the country. I'll have family in Iowa tell me, you know, now they go and check out at the grocery store and it rings up so high so quick. They've got to take things out of their shopping cart. Some people that want to buy a home, if they bought a similar home, their monthly mortgage payment will be twice as much because of interest rates and the inflation that we've seen. So this is really, really hurting working Americans. Bidenomics has not worked. And at the end of the day, that is what you've got to deliver on. So my view is to reverse America's decline, you've got to reverse Bidenomics. We need energy security and independence. We need to stop spending so much money. Get rid of all the rules and regulations. Let the economy perform better. That will bring the inflation down and give people a chance to get ahead again. Good to have you here, Governor. It's Sandra here in New York. We are awaiting this briefing out of the White House. And it's happening, as I believe John detailed earlier, during Biden's awful, no good, terrible week. And you're making the case that you can turn things around. I talked to an Iowa voter this morning on a panel when I was sitting in on Newsroom who said his vote can still be swayed. He said he felt like he was leaning towards you after voting for Trump in the past two election cycles. So what are your plans to engage voters that might not be looking strongly at you right now, voters that might be leaning Trump that could be swayed your direction? I mean, what's your strategy right now, knowing what is happening? You've got to earn it, Sandra. You've got to show up. And we've done 55 of the 99 counties. Of course, we're going to get ready for this debate. We're going to be in California. We're going to be in those early states, Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, making the case to people, answering their questions, shaking their hands, doing what we need to do to be able to show that we will be the 47th president of the United States. And most important, yes, win the election, but actually get done what we all know needs to get done. And voters can trust me to do it because I've done it in Florida. Most people that run for office over-promise and under-deliver. Every single thing I promised to do, we delivered on, and we actually over-delivered on those promises. We know the issues that people care about, economy, border, crime, education, all these things, weaponization of government. The question is, is who's best equipped to bring all this in for a landing? And I think you're right. What I'm finding in Iowa, we have a great organization in the early states. We're built for the long haul. That's how you win there. But a lot of voters haven't made a firm decision. They may be leaning one way or another. So I think this is very fluid, and I think someone's got to go out there and grab it, and that's what I'm going to do. Nobody's entitled to be nominated. You've got to show up in these early states, and you've got to earn it, and that's what I'm going to do. Yeah, I mean, in terms of leaning toward a candidate, Governor, latest polls, Fox News poll shows Trump now with 60%. That's an increase. You're in second place with 13%, and then on down the line, and then a new Quinnipiac poll. Trump's got 62% support nationally. It was 57%. You've got 12%. It was 18%. These polls after Hurricane Adelia, which highlighted your leadership, just the needle's not moving for anybody but Trump. And in some cases, it's moving in the wrong way. But I think it's a state-by-state thing, so we're focused our efforts on the early states. I mean, if it was a national primary, we'd have a different strategy, and we'd be applying our efforts differently. But he's leading substantially in all of the early states, too. He's not leading by those numbers, I can tell you that. He's not leading by those numbers, but he's still substantial. The fact that they're now sending him there shows, and you actually are having reporting. Even some of the liberal outlets are saying, you know, the governor is doing what you need to do to Iowa. The former president's not, and there's a lot of concern. In Iowa. Yeah, well, so we're going to do that. So I think, but I think it's, at the end of the day, it's very fluid. I think the fact that, you know, we had a summer where these cases were being brought, and I think that that has helped him because people look at our DOJ and FBI, and they see the corruption. They see the weaponization. And so I do think that there's been some sympathy for that, and understandably so. We've got a long way to go, though, and I think the question's going to be, you know, who's best equipped to be able to bring this country out of the malaise that we're in, and who can do it for two terms, which I could do and he couldn't, and then who is kind of in the position to be an energetic executive, to really just spit nails and take no prisoners, because I think that's what it's going to take to be able to bring this country back. Governor, we're obviously watching this autoworker strike happening. We're also watching the border. These are live images, Eagle Pass, Texas. Our Fox flight team's bringing this drone footage of migrants crossing over as we speak. The numbers are staggering coming from there. As the White House is saying that this president's done more to secure the border than anybody else, exact words, Biden's done more to deal with immigration than anybody else. But this is the reality of the situation. Running for president, what do you tell people you're going to do about this? How do you deal with it here at home? How do you stop the flow into this country from the original countries they're coming from? What's your big plan? Like, how do you tell people you're going to tackle this day one? Well, what Biden is saying is ludicrous. Nobody believes that. We've actually done a lot in Florida. I've sent people to the border. We helped transport illegal aliens to Martha's Vineyard. Texas has done New York. That's actually had an impact because it's raised the issue. As president, I'm going to declare it a national emergency on day one. That means I'm going to unlock resources. I'm going to put the military on the border. Like what? In what numbers? What are you talking? What would that look like? That will be an operational decision once we see what the facts on the ground are. But I think the important thing is we're going to change the policy so that they can't come in the way they are with the bogus asylum claims. That's important. But we're also going to have fortification there to be able to interdict. They do get across illegally. We're going to send them back. We will build the border wall because I've seen where Texas has put up barriers. It makes a difference. We need that all across the border. But I am going to be willing to lean in against the Mexican drug cartels because they are killing tens of thousands of our fellow Americans every year by bringing in fentanyl. I was down there in Arizona where they cut through part of the border wall. These are reinforced steel beams. Cartels are cutting through. They're coming through with satchels of fentanyl. That's deadly for our society. So they're invading our country, killing our people. We have every right to use deadly force against them at the border. We will hold them accountable. And once you do that, you're going to see the situation change. They're doing it because they're getting away with it. They have more control over our border in parts the cartels do than our own government does. Biden's got the Border Patrol. He won't even let them on the border in some parts of the border. He has them waiting in town so that they can process people coming illegally. They have apps where people coming illegally can fill out forms before they even get to the border and then they come in. So it's going to be a complete reversal. But my promise is this. I'm going to end this problem once and for all because we've been talking about it for years and years and years. Now is the time to bring it to a conclusion. Let me press you a little bit if I could, Governor, on this idea of using the military and what role they will have on the border. The military is currently on the border. They're there in a logistics and support role. How would you change that? Well, you would have rules of engagement. I mean, they're not allowed to engage right now under current things. And so you have rules of engagement that say, you know, if you positively identify somebody that's a cartel member that's demonstrating hostile intent or committing a hostile act, you have the ability to engage them. And there'll be a lot of tools at the disposal that you can use. But I was just going to say there's a couple of provisions under which you can do that. If there's a threat against the territory of the United States, which there is, the military can engage. Drug interdiction has typically been a law enforcement issue. Also, if you activate the National Guard for federal purposes, you run up against posse comitatus, which then requires permission from the folks across the street in order to change the role of the military. So it gets complicated. So two things. No, no, I agree. But, one, I get the law enforcement. But this is an invasion of our country that is killing tens of thousands. We've never seen anything like this with fentanyl. It's so much different than other drugs and other narcotics. And I've met probably dozens of angel moms around the country. So these are mothers that have lost kids. And we've talked to many of them. And you have. And so the thing is, is you could have a kid who may think they're taking a Xanax. I mean, not like it's the best decision in the world, but it shouldn't be fatal. But if it's laced with fentanyl, they are dying. And that's just unacceptable. So we view it as more of a military and as an invasion. We will be willing to work with Congress if we need to. But I think we have Article 2 authority to be able to hold the cartels accountable. And we will designate them as a foreign terrorist organization, transnational criminal organization. There's different designations. We'll do the one that gives us the best authority and makes the most sense in terms of holding them accountable. All right. You could go after China, too. Well, you know, with China sending the precursor chemicals, the cartels are now making the fentanyl. But we are interested in interdicting the maritime shipments of the precursor chemicals. Real quick, before we head to the White House, because Jake Sullivan is taking questions. Governor, that debate is less than two weeks from now. Give us the quick and dirty. What's your strategy? Strategy is to articulate for the country why I should be president and how I will be able to reverse this country's decline. We're going to be at Ronald Reagan's library. This is this generation's time for choosing. We've got to make the right choice because we're running out of time as a country. Governor, I appreciate you joining us. Thank you for coming by. I really appreciate it. Good to see you. Hope to see you again soon. Thank you. All right. Hey, everyone. I'm Emily Campagno. Catch me and my co-hosts, Harris Faulkner and Kayleigh McEnany, on Outnumbered every weekday at 12 p.m. Eastern or set your DVR. Also, don't forget to subscribe to the Fox News YouTube page for daily highlights.