Hogan hits DeSantis over migrant ‘publicity stunt’: ‘A terrible idea’

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) on Thursday said it was a “terrible idea” for fellow GOP governors Ron DeSantis (Fla.) and Greg Abbott (Texas) to bus and fly migrants to progressive cities in a move to pressure President Biden to address a surge of migrants at the border.

“I thought it was a mistake to basically do publicity stunts of busing people from the border into other states,” Hogan said during an appearance Thursday in New Hampshire. “Gov. DeSantis, who had nothing to do with the issue … grabbed fifty people and sent them to Martha’s Vineyard as a publicity stunt.”

Hogan, a moderate Republican who is retiring from his governorship this year and is considered someone who may make a future White House bid, appeared at the Politics and Eggs event hosted by the New England Council and the New Hampshire Institute of Politics & Political Library at Saint Anselm College.

The Maryland governor is a fierce critic of both former President Trump and the Republican gubernatorial nominee seeking to replace him in his state, and on Thursday he raised concerns about political polarization and the direction the nation was heading, saying the U.S. needs to go back to being a “leader” on the world stage.

DeSantis drew headlines last month when he flew migrants to the wealthy island Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, but also a storm of criticism for using human beings as political ploys.

Abbott and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) have been busing migrants to Washington, D.C., New York City and Chicago and other liberal enclaves for months in a move to pressure the Biden administration into taking action at the border.

Hogan, who is part of a task force made up of 26 governors seeking to address the surge of migrants at the border, said he thinks the federal government is “failing” at securing the border and “doing nothing” on the issue.

But the Maryland leader on Thursday said sending migrants to blue states does nothing to resolve the issue.

“I think it was a terrible idea. Let’s try to address the issue seriously, rather, and fix the problem rather than try and get on TV,” Hogan said. “It’s back to what I was saying earlier about the performative politics. It’s not a serious discussion, it’s not a good solution.”