...
By Nick Mordowanec
Staff Writer
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Friday spoke out for the first time about Russian warships in Cuban waters, criticizing the Biden administration for espousing "weakness" on the global stage.
Footage released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Thursday showed the frigate Admiral Gorshkov and nuclear-powered submarine Kazan sailing into Havana Bay, about 100 miles south of Florida. They were not carrying nuclear weapons but were armed with Zircon hypersonic missiles and Kalibr cruise missiles.
The Cuban Foreign Ministry described the Russian naval presence as a reflection of the country's "historically friendly relations" with Moscow, even greeting the ships with a 21-cannon salute. Moscow has defended its four-ship fleet presence as part of routine military drills conducted with allies.
Read More
Steve Bannon Issues MAGA Battle Cry: ‘Victory or Death’3 min read
Donald Trump Gets Good Sign in Two Critical Swing States: Poll3 min read
Law ‘Requires’ Samuel Alito to Disqualify Himself from Trump Case—Attorney5 min read
...
"I'm the governor of Florida, I'm not the commander-in-chief, but if my responsibilities were different, that would not be something that we would allow to be happening," DeSantis said Friday in Hollywood, Florida, according to footage recorded by Florida's Voice. "I think it's really concerning that under this administration, they've put out a posture of weakness that has invited more aggressive actions from our adversaries."
A spokesperson for DeSantis told Newsweek via email that the governor's remarks speak for themselves.
On Friday, a U.S. Navy fast-track submarine, the USS Helena, made "a routine port visit...while conducting its global maritime security and national defense mission," the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said in a statement on social media.
Prior to the ships garnering widespread attention, open source maritime and aerial tracking data appeared to reveal U.S. naval and air assets shadowing the Russian warships as they passed Florida's eastern coast while reaching their destination in Cuba.
The governor also called it "problematic" that activity conducted by hostile nations "is probably at a level we have not seen in many, many years."
"I think that history has shown that these bad actors, they respond to strength and they're deterred by strength," DeSantis added. "They're not going to be deterred by weakness.
"They're not going to be deterred by confusion. They're not going to be deterred by a president wandering around aimlessly at the G7. They're going to be deterred because they know that's not somebody that you want to mess with."
DeSantis was referring to video of President Joe Biden "wandering" away from world leaders at the Group of Seven (G7) summit Thursday.
Video shared on X accounts like RNC Research, which is managed by former President Donald Trump's campaign and the Republican National Committee, purport that Biden's actions during a skydiving demonstration were proof of his diminished mental capacity.
The video footage, which has been circulated by other conservative outlets and publications like the New York Post, has been refuted by the White House and Democrats for not showing the full clip or providing correct context.
"The Murdoch outlets are so desperate to distract from @POTUS's record that they just lie," White House spokesperson Andrew Bates wrote on X. "Here, they use an artificially narrow frame to hide from viewers that he just saw a skydiving demonstration. He's saying congratulations to one of the divers and giving a thumbs up."
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines