DeSantis Doubles Down On Call to Disband Pro-Palestinian Student Groups

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis defended his call for Florida colleges and universities to disband student chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine after fellow presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy compared the Florida governor's messaging to "cancel culture."

"This is not cancel culture," DeSantis insisted in an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday. "We believe we're totally justified within the law."

DeSantis directed universities to deactivate branches of the pro-Palestinian group based on a Florida law prohibiting "providing material support" to a "designated foreign terrorist organization."

The Florida governor sidestepped a question about whether he has any evidence that student groups have provided material support to Hamas.

Ramaswamy weighed in on DeSantis decision earlier this week in an interview with The Hill, noting that he thinks "the answer to bad speech is not less speech."

"It's a shameful political ploy," Ramaswamy said. "It's utter hypocrisy for someone who railed against left-wing cancel culture."

Both candidates are vying for the Republican presidential nomination in a crowded field led by former President Donald Trump. The pair have both qualified for the third GOP primary debate on Nov. 8 in Miami.