Trump complains DeSantis 'copied everything' from his immigration plan
- Trump is upset that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' immigration plan is similar to his.
- The former president told reporters that DeSantis "basically copied everything I said."
Donald Trump does not think imitation is the highest form of flattery.
The former president complained to reporters that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis "copied everything" from Trump's own immigration plan. Trump's latest taunt of his closest GOP rival comes just after DeSantis rolled out his immigration plan during an event at the US-Mexico border. It was DeSantis' largest policy announcement to date.
"Well, his plan is my plan," Trump told Semafor and ABC News reporters, according to Semafor's Shelby Talcott. "mean, he's basically copied everything I said — catch and release, finish the wall."
The former president is correct that DeSantis' long list of immigration proposals bears striking similarities to some of his own. Like the former president, DeSantis wants to end birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrations, though just like Trump it appears unclear how he would accomplish a feat that many legal scholars believe is not in the president's power due to the 14 Amendment.
DeSantis has also pointed out how Trump failed to deliver on some of his immigration promises. As the former president himself alluded to, his administration was unable to finish areas that had been identified for border wall construction. According to CNN, 458 miles of wall were completed under Trump but an additional 280 miles was left uncompleted after he left office.
The governor took particular issue with Trump's restated promise to order mass deportations if he were elected.
"Well, he said that in 2016 as well and then didn't do it. They had some but they didn't have anything out of the ordinary," DeSantis told Fox News. "I think we would be much more assertive than he was in his first administration."
DeSantis' campaign referred Insider to these remarks when asked for comment. The Trump administration ran into frequent issues when it attempted large-scale deportations, including frustration over the then-president tweeting out the plan before it was supposed to happen.