Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) mocked New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani for his extreme leftwing positions in a recent appearance on Fox News's Hannity, saying he makes "[former Mayor Bill] de Blasio look like Ronald Reagan."
Gov. DeSantis noted that de Blasio's term as Mayor "sparked an absolute flow out of New York City, and yes, many into Florida," including host Sean Hannity himself, and added that if Mamdani wins the election, the Sunshine State could expect more New Yorkers to move south.
"I think this guy's policies, soup to nuts, are probably the most radical left that I have ever seen of a major party candidate in a big jurisdiction," Gov. DeSantis continued, pointing to the "crazy economics, saying they are going to tax white neighborhoods more, he wants to abolish the NYPD, he does not want to send law enforcement to dangerous areas, he wants to send social workers. This is above and beyond the destruction that New York City has already seen."
The Florida Governor thus jokingly suggested he implement an "entry tax or something" to deal with the potential exodus from the Big Apple "because I do not know if we are going to be able to absorb everyone that is going to flee his poor rulership."
Hannity noted that Mamdani has vowed to prevent businesses from leaving New York, asking DeSantis if Florida could come to their defense, which he affirmed.
"And I can tell you just anecdotally," said the Governor, "I have privately spoken with some business leaders that when he got the nomination, they are preparing to move more of their assets out of New York City if he eventually gets elected Mayor, so that will happen, and I think he is not going to be able to be successful in pulling one of those stunts."
DeSantis has not been the first Florida official to mock Mamdani, as his former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Representative Jimmy Patronis (R-FL) recently mocked Mamdani's first name for its similarity to that of the character Zohan from the 2008 Adam Sandler comedy film You Don't Mess with the Zohan.
