My Full Interview with Byron Donalds

[0:00] My name is James Fishback, Republican candidate for governor. This never really gets to happen, [0:04] but I'm honored to be able to interview my opponent, Byron Donalds. Byron, before we get [0:09] into the specifics, just tell us, where are you from? I'm a black kid from the inner city of New [0:13] York, Brooklyn, New York, if you're from there. I'm not from there, actually. I'm from Davie, [0:17] Florida, down in Broward County. I was born and raised there. My wife, born and raised in Miami [0:21] Dade County. We now live in the panhandle. Makes sense that you're from New York, given how much [0:25] you want to turn Florida into a concrete jungle. Let me just talk about one specific point, which [0:30] is data centers. What is your position on data centers? You're going to have data centers, [0:36] tech firms, et cetera. We need to embrace that, not run away from that. And the beauty of our state, [0:43] we are wide open. We have actual land in our state that is still pristine, available to use. [0:50] We do have land that's pristine. It's called the Everglades. I grew up going out there with my dad [0:53] and my uncle on the weekends. Byron, you're not going to pave over the Everglades for a data [0:58] center. You're not going to take over wetlands and what were once cattle ranches and citrus groves, [1:03] pristine land for data centers. You're not going to do that. You want to embrace them. I want to [1:08] stop them. That's what makes us different. Let's see if we have some similarities. What is your plan [1:13] to make housing more affordable? Well, number one, we have to figure out how we're going to build more [1:17] houses and build them a lot faster. Byron, building houses, we've built millions of new houses in [1:22] Florida, and housing is more expensive than it's ever been. That's why BlackRock, Blackstone, [1:28] foreign nationals keep coming and buying up our homes. You want to build affordable housing, [1:33] Section 8-style, little wooden homes. I want to make housing affordable. Here's how I'll do it. [1:39] Number one, you are going to ban BlackRock, Blackstone, Wall Street firms from buying up our homes. [1:44] That creates scarcity, that drives up prices, and it locks out firefighters and teachers and nurses [1:50] and cops and corrections officers from being able to buy a home. Number two, we're not going to let [1:54] foreign nationals speculate in our housing market. If you're a Brazilian who wants to buy a home [1:59] in Florida, you're not going to be able to because those homes have to go to Floridians, [2:04] not for your investment portfolio. The last thing is we have to reduce the all-in cost of housing [2:10] by eliminating property taxes and bringing down sky-high property insurance. I will do both as [2:16] governor by bringing a business approach to government, by eliminating the waste, fraud, [2:20] and foolishness that's resulted in the highest property taxes ever in Florida, and unleashing [2:25] new competition in property insurance, because more competition will always mean lower prices. [2:30] Let's talk about something that I think as Republicans, we're going to be eye to eye on. [2:34] You will back the blue always, right? Because we all saw the atrocity that happened to George Floyd. [2:40] I support people protesting. I want to make sure that there's justice for George Floyd. [2:44] We definitely have to do something about police brutality in America. [2:48] Byron, how do you call yourself a Republican? We all saw what happened to George Floyd. He [2:52] tragically overdosed. That should never happen to anybody in this country. But why would you attack [2:57] cops? Why would you bring up the left-wing lie about police brutality in America? It's a lie. [3:04] Know this, Byron. I will always support the men and women of law enforcement, the men and women [3:08] are corrections departments all over this country and all over the state, because they wake up every [3:13] single day and they put their life on the line. I am not, I am not going to fall for the slanderous [3:18] lies of the left-wing media who attack and denigrate our corrections officers and law enforcement [3:23] officers. You should be ashamed of yourself for saying that. I think, I think we're going to agree [3:28] on this one because Republicans nearly universally do. What is your view on abortion, Byron? [3:35] Let me stop you right there. Byron, medical procedure? Abortion is murder. It's not healthcare. [3:45] It's not a medical procedure. It is taking a beautiful pre-born life. All life begins from [3:52] the moment of conception. It is conceived in God's awesome image. And what we are going to do is we [3:57] are going to end abortion once and for all in Florida. We're going to make sure the law backs it [4:03] up. But more importantly, we're going to make sure that if a single mom is struggling, when she finds [4:07] out she's pregnant, that she can go to any crisis pregnancy center in Florida, open 24 hours a day, [4:13] seven days a week, regardless of her insurance or income status, she should be able to access [4:18] compassionate care, prenatal, postpartum, baby food, diapers, and even prayer. We need to step up [4:25] as Americans and as Christians. And it's a shame that you would call it a medical procedure when we all [4:30] know that abortion is murder and we must stop it. We obviously don't see eye to eye on abortion. We [4:39] don't see eye to eye on backing the blue. Can I just ask, what do you see as the number one priority [4:47] for the United States? [4:49] In terms of where the United States is right now, we have to set our priorities. Israel is our number [4:55] one priority. Byron, wait, Israel is our number? Israel is our number one priority. Byron, you [5:02] could love Israel. You could be skeptical. It doesn't matter. America is the number one priority [5:07] right now. American people are the number one priority. Floridians, 23 million living from [5:12] Pensacola all the way to Key West. I'm the only candidate, not only in this race, but in Florida [5:16] history that has met with voters in all 67 counties. And I can tell you that no one is losing sleep over [5:22] the Middle East. We're losing sleep over the middle class. We can't afford the homes. We [5:27] can't afford to stay in them. Property tax has never been higher. Property insurance is skyrocketing. [5:32] We got flock cameras being built up all over the state. We got the data center invasion threatening [5:37] our water, threatening our land, raising our electric bills. And Byron, you're talking about [5:41] Israel? Look, I love everybody in the world. I wish everybody the best in the world. But I love [5:48] my state. I'm a fourth generation Floridian. I am fighting for Floridians. I'm not [5:52] worried about the people of any other country right now. Speaking of a foreign country, [5:57] can I ask you, what is your relationship with AIPAC? In 2019, I actually went to Israel. [6:03] I was on a trip with AIPAC. I was over there for about 10 days. Byron, here's the big difference [6:09] between me and you. You've taken money from AIPAC, and I have signed a legally binding document [6:13] that if I take money from AIPAC, from CARE, from any organization aligned with foreign interests, [6:18] that I cannot run for re-election. If you take money from any group aligned with a foreign [6:24] entity or a foreign interest, you are a traitor to the United States of America. I don't care if [6:28] that's AIPAC, if that's CARE, if that's Australia's version or Sweden's version of AIPAC. To put America [6:34] first is to never take foreign money, to never be tainted or corrupted by foreign influence. [6:41] Byron, I'm just going to cut this interview short because it seems like you are not really running as a [6:46] Republican. In fact, you were a registered Democrat when Barack Hussein Obama was president. [6:52] You're not a real Republican. My grandfather was Republican. He was named after Abraham Lincoln. [6:55] My great-grandfather was Republican. My father's a Republican. I've been a Republican my entire life, [7:00] and I can tell you, someone who's not willing to stand up for the pro-life movement, someone who's [7:04] not willing to ban data centers, someone who wants to build more crappy housing where orange [7:09] groves and citrus once stood is not someone who deserves to be the next governor of Florida. [7:15] Byron, I wish you all the best. You got 23 days left in this race, but here's what I'll know, [7:21] that the voters that I'm meeting all over Florida, they want a lifelong Floridian, [7:25] not a politician like you've been. They want a business guy who is a proven outsider, [7:29] who will show up, shake up the system, and fight for the Florida that we love. My name is James [7:36] Fishback. I'm a fourth-generation Floridian. I'm running for governor because Florida is our home. [7:41] America is our birthright, and we can never let anyone steal that from us. Vote August 18th.