'Empty threat': Ron DeSantis draws flak as he considers removing President Biden from Florida ballot

DES MOINES, IOWA: GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis sparked an outcry after claiming that he's "looking" into ways to block President Joe Biden from the 2024 primary ballot in Florida due to the "invasion of 8 million" at the southern border.

The 45-year-old Florida governor told reporters on Friday, January 5, during a campaign event in Iowa, that he believes attempts to keep former President Trump off the ballot are “wrong.”

"I do think the US Supreme Court is going to have to take the case," he said, per Fox News, adding, "I do think they're going to have to rein this in because I just think if you look at it, it just becomes too different."

However, despite his remarks, DeSantis asserted that the Sunshine State is looking at whether it could block Biden from the ballot due to his actions, claiming that he encouraged an "invasion" of immigrants across the southern border into the US.

"You could make a case — we're actually, I'm actually looking at this in Florida now. Could we make a credible case that Biden, because of the invasion of eight million?" DeSantis said.

Why does DeSantis want to block Biden from the Florida ballot?

DeSantis has brought up the eight million number many times, referring to the number of immigrants who have supposedly entered the nation without authorization during Biden's presidency.

Even though DeSantis disagrees with the constitutionality of preventing candidates from appearing on primary ballots, he said it's critical to fight under the same rules as Democrats are.

"I think if this is going to happen for them . . . I don't believe in fighting with one hand tied behind your back. Whatever the rules are applied to us, we're going to fight back and play the rules the other way," DeSantis said.

"You know, we've got a better way forward. We're not going to have to worry about those issues. And then when I become president, I'm going to be able to address all the lawfare and all the weaponization, and we'll be able to end this stuff once and for all," he added.

In December 2023, the Colorado Supreme Court barred Trump from appearing on the state ballot due to his role in the January 6, 2021, riots at the Capitol.

Following Colorado’s ruling, other states have also moved or are considering efforts to block Trump from the ballot. Trump was ruled ineligible to appear on the primary ballot by the Maine Secretary of State, and this month, the Illinois State Board of Elections (SBE) will vote on whether to strike the former president's name.

The matter of whether or not Trump’s name will remain on presidential ballots is now in the hands of the Supreme Court, which announced that it will hear his appeal of the rulings.

Internet mocks DeSantis for claims against Biden

After DeSantis’ remarks surfaced on social media, many users slammed him for saying that he was "looking" into ways to block Biden from the 2024 primary ballot in Florida.

“It’s not his decision to make. What a farce,” one user trolled. “What DeSantis the bully isn't disclosing is that he's already looked into it and found no viable case, and that's the end of the story,” a second person mocked.

“What laws did Biden break?” another person asked while one wrote, “It’s an empty threat and DeSantis is unraveling just like his political career!”

“Using the invasion as a reason for such a move could be seen as an overreach and a threat to democratic norms,” another user slammed.

“Uh oh. Little Lord DeSantis is about to flip the game board over because he’s losing so bad,” another one mocked.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.