DeSantis uses recent Trump claim to spotlight his broken promise on Mexico: 'That didn't happen'

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Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vows that his first priority on immigration will be to deport everyone who has arrived illegally during President Biden's administration.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis slammed former President Trump Wednesday at an event about a recent comment from Trump suggesting there was never a "legal mechanism" to make Mexico pay for a border wall, a prominent campaign promise of Trump's

"Obviously, that didn't happen," DeSantis said about Mexico paying for the wall at a Never Back Down super PAC event in Spartanburg, South Carolina. "We know that didn't happen. But he said, ‘Look, these people are getting on me about that, but there was never any legal mechanism where I could make Mexico pay for them. It wasn't possible to make Mexico pay for the wall.'

"He starts saying all this. I'm like, wait a minute, you said that for years, and now you're saying that you never intended to do it," DeSantis added. 

"But here's the even worse part. If you know how to use power and you know how to lead, you actually can get Mexico to pay for the wall. No, they're not just going to give you money if you put out your hand. … I will make Mexico pay for the wall. By doing this, we are going to charge a fee on all remittances that are sent from the United States to Mexico or any of these other countries."

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump (Getty Images I AP)

DeSantis said that move would yield "billions of dollars" that would be used to build a wall at the southern border.

"I will get it done," DeSantis said.

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DeSantis was referencing a quote from Trump over the weekend in Ottumwa, Iowa, when he talked about the "lunatics" in the back of the room, referring to the media, who say, "Trump didn’t get anything from Mexico."

A Border Patrol agent walks between a gap along the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico in Yuma, Ariz. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

"There was no legal mechanism because I said they’re going to help fund this wall, but there was no legal mechanism," Trump said. "You know, how do you go to a country and say, ‘By the way, I’m building a wall, hand us a lot of money.’"

Trump said Mexico paid for the wall in other ways. 

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"What they can do is they gave us soldiers, the soldiers, the value of those soldiers was far greater than any amount of money they would have given us to build the wall," Trump said. "So, you know, they helped us a lot. And we created the safest border in history, got rid of catch and release. … We did a great job."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to members of the media after an event July 27, 2023, in Chariton, Iowa. (Sergio Flores for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The DeSantis campaign posted the clip on social media, alleging it showed Trump "admits he never intended to keep his promise to get Mexico to pay for the wall."

"What other promises is he making that he knows he can’t keep?" the campaign asked.

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.