EXCLUSIVE — On the 22nd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) said the threat of foreign terrorism still exists on U.S. soil due to a lack of security on the southern border.
Putting a spotlight on current problems surrounding illegal immigration, the Republican presidential candidate told the Washington Examiner that he believes the border crisis “has made us more vulnerable to a terrorist attack.”
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“I think that there is a good bet that somebody that’s come across that [southern] border will commit an act of terrorism,” he said.
He noted that people from countries across the globe have been apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“9/11 was in part an immigration issue,” he said. “A lot of these guys should not have been in the country — had overstayed visas and whatnot.”
In the early morning of Sept. 11, 2001, 19 al Qaeda-affiliated radical Islamic terrorists took over four commercial airplanes, causing two planes to crash into the World Trade Center’s twin towers in New York City, one into the Pentagon outside of Washington, and another into a field in Pennsylvania as passengers fought against hijackers.
The attacks resulted in the deaths of 2,977 people, making it the largest loss of life ever on American soil from a foreign attack.
For the Florida governor, serving his country was the answer. “You put service above self,” he said, explaining why he didn’t choose to embark on a career in the private sector instead.
“I felt it was my obligation to serve. So I raised my hand,” the Republican presidential candidate recalled.
In 2004, he earned a commission in the Navy as a JAG officer. While in the Navy, he worked on operations at the terrorist detention center at Guantanamo Bay, also deploying at one point to Iraq, where he served as an adviser to a U.S. Navy SEAL commander. In this position, he supported the SEAL mission in Fallujah, Ramadi, as well as the greater al Anbar province. He was decorated with the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service and the Iraq Campaign Medal.
DeSantis said the 9/11 attacks “really just changed how I viewed the world around me.”
He remembered the pre-9/11 era, saying, “We didn’t really have much of a care in the world” and that the attacks were “a big dose of reality that it’s a dangerous world and that there are people that want to kill us.”
It was a “wake-up call,” he continued.
DeSantis’s experience as a veteran would assist him as president, he explained. “It gives you a perspective,” he added.
For a matter such as the war in Ukraine, his understanding would provide insight for his decision-making. “I’m somebody that understands we need to be strong that you deter conflict through strength,” he said. “Hopefully, we would never have to use military force — but if you do, you better have a concrete objective, and you better just get the job done.”
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“And that’s what we owe our service members if you’re gonna put them in that situation,” the Florida Republican continued.
DeSantis is attending a ceremony on Monday morning at the World Trade Center.
