Desantis Says He Will "Start Slitting Throats on Day 1" If Elected

Ron Desantis continues to ratchet up his violent rhetoric on the campaign trail, telling a Rye, NH audience this week that he is "going to start slitting throats on day one."  In the speech he was referencing his plans to eradicate career civil servants in Washington, commonly referred to by the right-wing as the "deep state."

This is not the first time Desantis has used violent and graphic language to try and make his point. On the same swing through New Hampshire, first reported by NHPR, he vowed that Mexican cartels would be "shot stone cold dead" if they tried to cross the border.  

Desantis enjoys sprinkling violent rhetoric and imagery into his campaign speeches and appearances.  He often refers to his policy on social issues as a "War on Woke," and talks about "kneecapping" the opposition.

This also feeds into the theme that Desantis takes sadistic joy in the violence and pain of others. Stories circulated for years about Desantis when he was a legal officer at Guantanamo Bay, he laughed while hunger striking prisoners were being forced-fed through a feeding tube.  

This clip below shows Desantis denying the story followed by a Guantanamo prisoner recounting his experience with Desantis while undergoing force-feeding.