New DeSantis ad leaves them 'stone cold dead'

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has received criticism for statements using violent language about illegal immigration during the first Republican primary debate and on the campaign trail. Now, the super PAC supporting him is doubling down.

Never Back Down unveiled an ad this week, “Stone Cold Dead,” that will be airing in Iowa and New Hampshire. It’s part of an almost $12 million ad buy the group is doing ahead of the early primary states. The ad includes video of DeSantis’ immigration talking points from the debate, where he called for military action in Mexico to target drug cartels.

“The cartels are killing tens of thousands of our fellow citizens. We have to defend our people. We're going to use force and we're going to leave them stone cold dead, no excuses. We will get the job done,” he says in a clip from the ad.

The ad also includes clips of conservative media personalities talking about his support of violence in dealing with immigration, intercut with videos of people crossing the border. “He intends to allow for deadly force to be used against anybody cutting through the border wall,” Fox News’ Bill Melugin says. The full ad is on YouTube.