Newly announced 2024 Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis (R-Fla) criticized former President Trump over a "jailbreak" bill that the president signed into law in 2018.
If elected, DeSantis vowed to seek repeal of Trump's First Step Act, which is a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill that reduced recidivism, allowed a pathway for non-violent prisoners to shorten their sentences, and reduced mandatory minimum sentences.
The Florida governor accused Trump of not having control over his agencies.
"Under the Trump administration — he enacted a bill. Basically, a jailbreak bill called the First Step Act. It has allowed dangerous people out of prison who have now re-offended and really, really hurt a number of people," DeSantis told the Daily Wire.
He said that one of the first things he would do as president was to go to Congress and reverse his 2024 rival's act. DeSantis argued that those going to prison should serve their time and that releasing people who have not been rehabilitated early is a "huge, huge mistake," adding that it allows criminals to "prey on people in our society."
However, in 2018 DeSantis voted for the first version of the bill as a member of the House of Representatives— the same year he was elected as governor— but resigned before the final version of the bill came to a vote in the chamber.
In response, Trump's team called out the governor's comments, pointing out his initial stance on the bill.
"Lyin' Ron. He voted for the First Step Act. It would be a shame if there were a video of him praising it in an interview with a local FL television station." Trump campaign spokesperson Stephen Cheung tweeted. “DeSantis supporter [Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky.] voted for the bill as well. DeSantis calls out his Congressional supporters and throws them under the bus."
Others argue, however, that DeSantis did not vote for the bill that Trump's team claims. The governor reportedly voted for an earlier version but the bill changed and he wasn’t in Congress for the December 2018 vote.
The Trump team says DeSantis voted for that bill but that’s not correct.
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) May 27, 2023
He voted for an earlier version but the bill changed and he wasn’t in Congress for the Dec 2018 vote.
In May 2018, only 2 R’s voted Nay
W/ the changes, 36 R’s voted Nay in Dec. pic.twitter.com/oJjYWLgQjh
DeSantis also touted his state's 50-year low crime rate despite the rest of the country experiencing historic crime levels. He called it "delusional" to think that Florida has high crime rates, saying that thousands wouldn't have moved to the sunshine rate if crime was a factor. In addition, he praised his quick act of calling the Florida National Guard the moment the George Floyd riots erupted in Minneapolis, adding that he had state law Enforcement deployed right away.