Florida Governor Ron DeSantis made a jaw-dropping assertion about Israel that left political observers stunned.
The connection he drew between America and the Middle East caught many off guard.
And Ron DeSantis turned heads with this one shocking claim about Israel and the United States.
DeSantis makes bold claim about America’s origins
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis raised eyebrows during an interview with conservative host Mark Levin when he made a sweeping historical claim about Israel’s role in Western civilization and America’s very existence.
“You could trace back the history of Western civilization all the way back to the ancient state of Israel and the birth of both Judaism and Christianity, and we wouldn’t have the United States of America if it didn’t trace back to that,” DeSantis told Levin on Tuesday.
The Governor’s comments came after he spent several minutes discussing America’s relationship with Israel, describing it as “the only country that we have shared values with” in the Middle East and “the only place in that region that we have common cause with.”
While DeSantis’s pro-Israel stance is well-known, the directness of his claim connecting America’s existence to ancient Israel sparked immediate reactions across the political spectrum.
DeSantis criticizes Arab nations despite Trump’s diplomatic efforts
In the same interview, DeSantis offered a skeptical view of America’s relationships with other Middle Eastern nations, even those that have shown warming relations with Israel under former President Donald Trump’s Abraham Accords.
“Most of the other places in the Arab world, I think, are maybe moderately leaning west, a lot of them are because they recognize President Trump’s strength,” DeSantis acknowledged before adding a significant caveat. “But underneath all that, you know, most of the population in those countries, they want Sharia law.”
This assessment puts DeSantis in a potentially awkward position relative to Trump, who has repeatedly touted his Middle East peace initiatives as major foreign policy achievements.
The Florida governor appeared to be suggesting that despite diplomatic breakthroughs on the surface, fundamental cultural and religious differences remain insurmountable.
DeSantis warns against negotiations with Iran
The Governor also took a hard line on Iran, expressing skepticism about any diplomatic efforts, including those previously pursued by the Trump administration.
“Trying to cut a deal with Iran” is “hazardous,” DeSantis warned. “I don’t see them as being good faith actors and in any way, shape or form.”
He took his criticism further, adding: “And the reality is they cannot be allowed to enrich uranium, period. End of story. They are a militant Islamic government.”
DeSantis’s comments on Iran included a particularly alarming claim about the mindset of Iran’s leadership regarding nuclear weapons.
Unlike the Soviet Union during the Cold War, which could be deterred by mutually assured destruction, DeSantis argued that Iran’s religious leaders might welcome nuclear annihilation.
“Their view of mutual destruction with nuclear weapons is actually something they think would be fine because they think they’re all going to go to heaven in paradise if that happens,” DeSantis stated.
The Governor contrasted this with the Soviet Union, which he described as “not a traditional country” that could be “deterred in a traditional way.”
“Whereas the atheistic Soviets found dying in a nuclear holocaust ‘not very appealing,’ Iran’s religious ‘mullahs’ believe that a nuclear exchange with Israel is ‘doing the will of Allah,'” DeSantis concluded.
DeSantis stakes out hardline foreign policy position
The Florida Governor’s comments reflect his efforts to establish himself as a foreign policy hawk, particularly on issues related to Israel and Iran.
By connecting America’s founding directly to ancient Israel, DeSantis is appealing to evangelical Christians and pro-Israel voters who see a divine connection between the two nations.
His remarks also indicate a potential policy difference with Trump, who has previously expressed openness to negotiating with Iran under certain conditions.
A warmonger, DeSantis appears to be rejecting any diplomatic path with Tehran, advocating instead for a maximalist position against Iranian nuclear ambitions.
As America’s relationship with Israel continues to be a central foreign policy issue, DeSantis’s comments highlight the competition among Republican leaders to position themselves as the strongest defenders of the Jewish state while warning about existential threats from Iran.
Whether his historical claim about America’s origins stemming directly from ancient Israel will resonate with voters remains to be seen, but it certainly has people talking.
