COCONUT CREEK—During a campaign stop at the Associated Builders and Contractors Florida East Coast Chapter, Republican gubernatorial candidate and Rep. Byron Donalds was asked about a recent edited video making the rounds on social media where it appears he gave a full-throated endorsement for a pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens, and illegal immigration.
"I have never supported a pathway to citizenship," said Rep. Donalds, referencing a video interview he did 5 years ago at CPAC.
Rep. Donalds then threw jabs at his Republican gubernatorial primary opponents—Lt. Jay Collins, Speaker Paul Renner—for pushing the narrative that he supported amnesty for illegal aliens.
"I've never supported A pathway to citizenship. I know the video that people are referring to. I did an interview with CPAC back in 2021, this is before Joe Biden led more than 10 million illegal aliens into the United States, and the question was about ‘how do we actually bring immigration some common sense reality today," said Donalds'
"I just think that these are the things that we have to be focused on, but to your point, look Javi, I get it, it’s campaigns a lot of guys are losing. They are losing big.I just am just telling you. A lot of guys are losing it, so they're trying to go back and find my words from some interviews and splice, splice everything together with some 30-second sound bite to make it seem like I support amnesty.
I have a 100% rating from Numbers USA from my six years in Congress. It's just a flat-out lie, because we have people who are losing in their campaign efforts, and so what are they going to do? Well, I know what they're going to do. In a couple of months, they're gonna lose, and everybody will forget about them."
In late 2025, The Floridian spoke to Donalds in Washington, D.C., where he first addressed the video in question.
"Play the whole tape. Don't be 60 minutes," Donalds challenged. "Don't selectively edit. Play the whole tape because, once my words are clear, then there's not going to be any ambiguity about my positions when it comes to immigration and border security, for that matter, as it comes to the United States," said Donalds.
