U.S. Rep. Randy Fine ended a defense of President Donald Trump’s decision to launch an attack on Iran by proclaiming, “Bombs away.”
Fine and the other Republican who represents Volusia County in Congress, Cory Mills, have taken different tones, but both support the joint U.S. effort with Israel to kill Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, destroy Iran’s military capabilities and eliminate its nuclear program.
In a social media post, Mills described the U.S. actions as “freeing a society of dictatorship, so that the actual people who are of that nation can take fate into their own hands.” He also said Khamenei’s death means Iran’s “reign of terror is over,” and the regime that oppressed Iranians is “no more.”
U.S. Rep. Randy Fine calls for deportation of journalist
On Feb. 28, Fine reposted a White House video of Trump announcing the attacks, then wrote: “We will cut off the head of the snake of Muslim terror, Bring lasting peace to the Middle East, and Save the Iranian People. Bombs away.”
Fine, a Jew who has a long history of antagonizing Muslims, urged the Trump administration to deport Mehdi Hasan, a British-born, naturalized American citizen and Muslim journalist who has called the strikes on Iran illegal.
Hasan later responded, saying of Fine: “Dude is not just racist but unhinged. I pity his poor family!”
Fine is advocating on X for the U.S. government to review every naturalized citizenship application granted over the past 35 years. In a tweet, he said Hasan should join U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib as well as New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani on “Air Sharia” flights to the Middle East.
“And for those who are a threat to America? Denaturalize and Deport. All of them. NOW.”
Cory Mills says Trump’s strikes are about ‘getting in, getting out’
Mills posted about the announcement that three U.S. service members had been killed in action.
“They answered the call. They gave all they had. And we will never forget them,” Mills posted on X. “My prayers are with the fallen, with the wounded, and with every family waiting at home. May God wrap His arms around them in this impossible moment.”
In an interview on CNN, Mills drew a contrast between the combat operations in Iran and in previous wars more than 20 years earlier.
“We’re not having troop buildup, put boots on the ground like we did with Afghanistan and Iraq,’ Mills said. “As you’ve seen with this president, whether it was the operations in Venezuela or other operations, he’s about getting precision strikes, getting in, getting out.”
What are some Florida candidates saying about the Iran military intervention?
Aaron Baker, who’s challenging Fine on the Florida 6th District Republican ticket, has questioned the wisdom of intervening in Iran, posting a statement in support of the constitutional article stating that the power to declare war rests exclusively with Congress.
“The escalating conflict with Iran is not America First,” Baker said, “and it is not what the American people voted for when we demanded an end to endless foreign wars.”
Charles Gambaro, another Republican seeking to unseat Fine, thanked Trump for a “righteous campaign” and “decisive action against the Iranian Regime who has been a state sponsor of terrorism around the world since 1979.”
Jennifer Jenkins, a Democrat challenging Fine, described the strikes on Iran as “putting troops at risk to distract from the pedophile in the White House.”
Sarah Ulrich, a Republican challenger of Mills in Florida’s 7th District, posted a statement condemning Iran’s threats and praising “the mightiest armed forces among the nations of the Earth.”
She urged Congress to “fulfill its solemn duty to check the power of the president” if “hostilities persist beyond the time prescribed by law.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida candidates, Volusia reps offer mixed reactions to Iran strikes
Reporting by Mark Harper, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
