Ron DeSantis has turned Florida into America's rescue operation.
He's pulled off another mission that puts Washington to shame.
And Ron DeSantis just proved one thing about Biden that left everyone speechless.
Florida steps up where federal government fails
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced Saturday that his state successfully evacuated 28 Floridians stranded in Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa devastated the island nation.¹
The Category 5 monster hurricane made landfall October 28 near New Hope, Jamaica with catastrophic 185 mph winds — tying the strongest Atlantic hurricane landfall on record.²
While federal officials talked about "monitoring the situation," DeSantis mobilized the Florida Division of Emergency Management on October 31 to get his people home.³
The rescue flight landed at Tampa International Airport where Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins personally greeted the returning evacuees.⁴
"Throughout my time as governor, Florida has rescued our residents from warzones and in the wake of natural disasters," DeSantis said. "Today's operation in Jamaica brings stranded Floridians home in the wake of Hurricane Melissa."⁵
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1984695734717841753
This wasn't some routine evacuation from a beachside resort.
Melissa ranks among the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic Basin — the strongest to hit Jamaica since recordkeeping began 174 years ago.⁶
The storm killed at least 28 people in Jamaica and left more than 490,000 customers without power.⁷
Entire parishes were underwater. Infrastructure was destroyed. Black River, called Jamaica's "breadbasket," was completely flooded.⁸
That's when DeSantis acted while Biden's State Department issued the usual bureaucratic statement about being "committed to assisting U.S. citizens abroad."⁹
Talk is cheap when Americans need rescue flights.
DeSantis built a track record Biden can't match
Here's what separates DeSantis from the career politicians in Washington — he's done this before, multiple times, and delivered results every single time.
In March 2024, DeSantis rescued 722 Americans from Haiti when gang violence overtook the country and the political situation collapsed.¹⁰
The federal government dragged its feet. DeSantis launched rescue flights from Orlando and brought people home — covering their costs so evacuees wouldn't be "stuck with the bill."¹¹
When Hamas terrorists attacked Israel in October 2023, DeSantis coordinated four wide-body planes through Tampa International Airport.
His team brought home nearly 700 Americans in four flights and sent two cargo planes carrying 85 pallets of donated medical supplies to Tel Aviv hospitals.¹²
Then in June 2025, when Iran launched missile strikes on Israeli cities and warfare intensified, DeSantis ran what he called "the most challenging and logistically difficult mission" his emergency management team ever handled.¹³
Over 300 Jewish Americans made it home on DeSantis-sponsored flights through Cyprus when commercial aviation shut down.¹⁴
Florida Division of Emergency Management Executive Director Kevin Guthrie praised DeSantis' "decisive leadership" that allows the state to "help Floridians return home safely."¹⁵
Compare that track record to Biden's Afghanistan withdrawal disaster.
Biden abandoned Americans at Kabul airport while Taliban fighters hunted down anyone with American connections.
The contrast couldn't be starker.
https://twitter.com/LtGovJayCollins/status/1984722839857958962
Why Florida succeeds when Washington fails
DeSantis understands something Biden never will — the government exists to protect citizens, not issue statements.
Florida built a rescue machine through years of getting pounded by hurricanes.¹⁶
When Hurricane Milton barreled toward the state last October, DeSantis had over 1,900 responders deployed, a 10,000-person base camp set up at Tropicana Field, and 800 National Guard troops on the ground with 4,000 more ready to roll.¹⁷
That's not bureaucracy — that's a standing army for emergencies.
The same infrastructure that handles Category 5 hurricanes hitting Florida pivots to rescuing Americans from war zones halfway around the world.
DeSantis built a system that actually works instead of one that holds meetings about working.
The State Department talks about "consular assistance" and tells Americans to register in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program.¹⁸
DeSantis sends planes.
Florida taxpayers fund these operations because DeSantis believes protecting citizens matters more than bureaucratic procedures.
The Israel rescue flights cost Florida $19 million — money well spent bringing Americans home from war zones.¹⁹
Biden spent billions on Afghanistan and left Americans behind.
Lieutenant Governor Collins captured the difference perfectly when he greeted evacuees at Tampa International Airport.
"Our state's strength is found in our people, and today that strength is on full display," Collins said.²⁰
That's not empty rhetoric — it's a philosophy of governance.
When Americans get stranded abroad, they don't want diplomatic cables and interagency coordination meetings.
They want someone who'll send a plane and bring them home.
DeSantis delivers while Biden's bureaucrats hold conference calls.
The Jamaica rescue marks the fourth major international evacuation Florida executed under DeSantis — Haiti twice, Israel twice, and now Jamaica.
Each time, DeSantis moved decisively when federal authorities moved slowly or not at all.
Project Dynamo, a veteran-led nonprofit that partners with Florida on rescue operations, conducted simultaneous evacuations from Jamaica using volunteer pilots.²¹
That's how effective leadership works — government and private sector working together to solve problems instead of creating committees to study solutions.
DeSantis proved once again that states can accomplish what the federal government won't.
His track record of international rescue operations embarrasses Biden's State Department and exposes the fundamental difference between leaders who act and politicians who talk.
When the next crisis hits and Americans need help getting home, they'll be hoping a governor like DeSantis is watching — not waiting for Washington to issue another statement.
¹ A.G. Gancarski, "State brings 28 Floridans home from Melissa-ravaged Jamaica," Florida Politics, November 1, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ "Florida successfully evacuates 28 residents from Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa," WESH 2 News, November 1, 2025.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ "20251101 ICYMI: Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Successful Evacuation of 28 Floridians from Jamaica following Hurricane Melissa," Florida Disaster, November 1, 2025.
⁶ Livern Barrett, Sammy Westfall, Ruby Mellen and Ben Noll, "Hurricane Melissa crossing Jamaica after historic landfall," The Washington Post, October 28, 2025.
⁷ "Death toll from Hurricane Melissa rises to 28 in Jamaica," ABC News, November 2, 2025.
⁸ "Category 5 storm makes landfall in Jamaica with catastrophic floods, wind," NBC News, October 28, 2025.
⁹ Ibid.
¹⁰ "Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Successful Rescue of More Than 700 Total Americans from Haiti," Executive Office of the Governor, April 24, 2024.
¹¹ "Gov. DeSantis says Florida has competition in Haitian rescue mission," Florida Politics, March 27, 2024.
¹² "Governor Ron DeSantis Issues Update on Israel Rescue Operation," Executive Office of the Governor, October 24, 2023.
¹³ "'We won't turn people away': DeSantis welcomes rescue flights arriving from Israel to Florida," WESH 2 News, June 23, 2025.
¹⁴ "DeSantis Greets Second Israeli Evacuation Flight, Over 300 Americans Brought Home," The Floridian, June 20, 2025.
¹⁵ "20251101 ICYMI: Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Successful Evacuation of 28 Floridians from Jamaica following Hurricane Melissa," Florida Disaster, November 1, 2025.
¹⁶ "20241006 ICYMI: Governor Ron DeSantis Issues Updates on State Preparedness Efforts for Tropical Storm Milton," Florida Disaster, October 6, 2024.
¹⁷ "2024107 ICYMI: Governor Ron DeSantis Issues Updates on State Preparedness Efforts for Hurricane Milton," Florida Disaster, October 7, 2024.
¹⁸ "Category 5 storm makes landfall in Jamaica with catastrophic floods, wind," NBC News, October 28, 2025.
¹⁹ "Florida cargo flights arranged by DeSantis carried drones and body armor for Israel," ABC17NEWS, October 26, 2023.
²⁰ "28 Florida residents evacuated from Jamaica following Hurricane Melissa devastation: DeSantis," News4Jax, November 1, 2025.
²¹ "DeSantis: 28 stranded Floridians are back home after being rescued from Jamaica," CFPUBLIC, November 1, 2025.
