Whoopi Goldberg and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis got into a dispute after she called him names for sending migrants north.
In an interview with Fox News, DeSantis said that Goldberg and other celebrities are engaging in ‘virtue-signaling’ when they criticize him.
“It doesn’t help anybody. These people, their virtue-signaling is a fraud,” DeSantis said.
He pointed out that Goldberg and other celebrities live in gated communities and don’t have to deal with the problems caused by illegal immigration.
“Whoopi Goldberg lives behind a gate, armed security guards. She’s never going to have to worry about somebody coming in illegally and affecting her life or the lives of her family. The rest of us have to deal with it,” DeSantis said.
The governor also noted that many celebrities are “hypocrites” when it comes to illegal immigration.
“Some of these same people hire illegal aliens themselves. They have armed security guards that are illegal aliens. Hollywood is rife with them. So, they’re a bunch of hypocrites,” DeSantis said.
He concluded by saying that he is “not going to be lectured” by celebrities who live in “gated communities.”
“I’m not going to be lectured by some of these people. I mean, they have no idea what it’s like for the rest of us that have to deal with this,” DeSantis said.
“We take what is happening at the southern border very seriously, unlike some, and unlike the President of the United States, who has refused to lift a finger to secure that border.
“You’ve had millions and millions of people pouring across illegally, a record amount of fentanyl coming into our country, it is absolutely killing Americans in record numbers, of course, you have criminal aliens.
“Just the sheer number of people, it’s not the way you run a country.
“If you have folks that are inclined to think Florida’s a good place, our message to them is that we are not a sanctuary state, and it’s better to be able to go to a sanctuary jurisdiction, and yes, we will help facilitate that transport for you to be able to go to greener pastures.
“All of those people in D.C. and New York were beating their chests when Trump was President, saying they were so proud to be sanctuary jurisdictions, saying how bad it was to have a secure border.
“The minute even a small fraction of what those border towns deal with every day is brought to their front door, they all of a sudden go berserk, and they’re so upset that this is happening. It just shows you their virtue-signaling is a fraud.”
Goldberg had critiqued DeSantis during an episode of “The View” last week.
“What are you doing? You’re the governor of Florida! This is not how we treat human beings; these are people looking for a better life,” Goldberg said.
“Why are you being so boneheaded about this? This is not what America is about,” she added.
DeSantis has been a vocal critic of illegal immigration and has pushed for tougher policies to crack down on it.
Last week, he announced a plan to send migrants who are released from federal custody to sanctuary cities in Florida.
The move was criticized by Goldberg and other celebrities.
DeSantis has defended his plan, saying that it would relieve overcrowding at detention centers and put the burden on cities that have “welcomed” illegal immigrants.
“These are people that are coming here illegally. They should be returned to their home countries,” DeSantis said.
“If the federal government doesn’t do it, we’re going to do it in Florida,” he added.
DeSantis’s plan has also been criticized by Democrats, who say that it is “inhumane” and “unconstitutional.”
