TAMPA, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday took aim at President Joe Biden's first State of the Union address, saying many of America's current issues are the result of Biden's own doing.
"We've got a lot of problems in this country. And that's obviously something you gotta deal with," DeSantis said during a news conference at the University of South Florida in Tampa. "But it's striking that so many of these problems have been created by Biden and his administration."
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Biden on Tuesday evening said curbing America's troubling inflation — which hit a 40-year high in January — is his top priority in 2022.
"Too many families are struggling to keep up with the bills," Biden said. "Inflation is robbing them of the gains they might otherwise feel."
The president said that, in an effort to lower a sharp spike in gas prices, the U.S. plans to release 30 million barrels of oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
DeSantis on Wednesday, however, said people are "chafing at the pump" because of Biden's "misguided" energy policies over the last year, adding that America needs to be more energy independent and less reliant on other counties for fuel.
"You've had 40%, 50% increase in the price of gas. Why is that? Because they shut down the Keystone Pipeline. Said no oil from [Arctic National Wildlife Refuge]. Nothing in federal lands," DeSantis said. "So consequently, you're importing more from countries like Russia. So that's bad for consumers because you're paying higher."
Biden said the keys to curbing inflation include increasing wages and strengthening supply chains.
"They printed trillions and trillions of dollars. And the solution, we're told, is to print trillions and trillions more? That will exacerbate the problem," DeSantis said. "Printing trillions of dollars is fueling inflation. It will not cure inflation."
The governor praised Florida for being part of the solution to supply chain gridlock and inflation, saying the Sunshine State has invested millions of dollars in better workforce education for commercial truck drivers.
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During his address, Biden said the U.S. is strengthening border security by installing "cutting-edge scanners to better detect drug smuggling" and setting up "joint patrols with Mexico and Guatemala to catch more human traffickers."
But DeSantis argued Wednesday that Biden's immigration policies are too lax and have allowed criminals to illegally flood into the U.S.
"Communities, particularly rural communities, are having to deal with the increase in methamphetamine, increase in fentanyl. The cartels are basically eating our lunch. That was all the result of the policy choices that were made upon [Biden] becoming president," DeSantis said.
