Ron DeSantis calls out ‘huge problem’ of Chinese property purchases in Florida

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called out China for reportedly buying up massive amounts of property in the Sunshine State, telling “The Ingraham Angle” he signed legislation to curb what he deemed “undue influence from rogue states” like the Chinese Communist Party.

Host Laura Ingraham reported on growing concern over China buying up American real estate, especially in the agricultural and residential sectors, in the Plains and in places like Florida.

“I don’t think they should be able to do it,” DeSantis said. “I think the problem is these companies have ties to the CCP, and it’s not always apparent on the face of whatever a company is doing — but I think it’s a huge problem.”

DeSantis said Tallahassee has banned Chinese “Confucius Institutes,” which he said allow CCP influence and propaganda into the higher education system.

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is shown. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

“We’re also probably going to do legislation next legislative session about our pension investments, with things that may be linked to the CCP. We don’t necessarily have a lot of it, but we want to make sure that we’re cutting ties so that we’re not funding our number-one adversary.”

Regarding the ongoing January 6 hearings, most recently led by Reps. Elaine Luria, D-Va., and Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., DeSantis said they are intended to “divert from Biden’s problems” — and are a recognition by Democrats that they failed Americans on “bread-and-butter issues” so must create a new cause celebre.

“What they want to do is make the election about something other than what are the top concerns for the American people. It’s not going to work. It may help them fundraise with their left-wing base, but the American people aren’t going to be diverted,” he predicted.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a commendation ceremony for role models of the Beijing Winter Olympics. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

When asked about his interactions with Kinzinger and Vice Chairwoman Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., while he was in the House, DeSantis said they were minimal or unremarkable at best, other than knowing the former as a fellow military veteran in the caucus.

Later, DeSantis called out HHS official Rachel Levine, who oversaw Pennsylvania’s coronavirus lockdown orders before being commissioned an admiral in the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service under President Biden.

Ingraham noted Levine, who is transgender, spoke out in the Miami Herald about the importance of “gender-affirming care” for children and young adults.

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Reps. Elizabeth Cheney, R-Wyo., and Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., are shown. (Olivier Douliery/AFP/Bloomberg via Getty | Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

DeSantis said the term is a “euphemism” for forcing sex changes on the patient, adding there is “no evidence that this is something that’s effective medical care.”

“We know that people that do this when their kids have huge problems going on, so we believe that this is not appropriate in the state of Florida. We don’t think a doctor should get a license if they’re doing it,” DeSantis said, adding physicians performing the surgeries hailed by Levine should be sued by patients who develop problems later in life.

While Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and California Gov. Gavin Newsom make what some have called overtures for potential 2024 Democratic presidential bids, DeSantis later claimed their policies are the reason Florida is growing and their states are “hemorrhaging people” faster than others.

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“If you look at California, they never lost population from the founding of the state until this current governor has been in office. Now they’re hemorrhaging people. Illinois is hemorrhaging people. New York and their tax bases are getting narrower and people are bringing wealth to Florida and opportunities to Florida,” he said, after both governors criticized Tallahassee’s leadership.

“[H]ere’s the thing. It is a result of us having good policies, but also them driving people away with their terrible policies,” the governor added, pointing to the fact that the largest cities in both states — Chicago and Los Angeles — are among the least safe municipalities in the United States while also being run by left-wing prosecutors with lax criminal justice views.

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.