TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Friday he has turned down suggestions to travel to Israel, drawing a distinction between himself and blue state Democrats such as New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

During an interview with conservative media outlet Newsmax, the Republican presidential candidate said it’s not “productive” for American politicians to visit Israel in the middle of its ongoing war with Hamas. His comments came days after President Joe Biden traveled to Israel and pledged ongoing American support for the country.

“I’ve been requested to, kind of, go over there. I know Biden went,” DeSantis said. “I’m not going to go over there at this time. I think that to have politicians going over there and trying to get — I think you’re just getting in the way of what’s going on. They’ve got a job to do. Our job here in the United States is to support them.”

DeSantis noted that other governors had traveled to Israel, although he did not mention either Hochul or Newsom by name. Newsom added a Friday visit to Israel ahead of a planned trip next week to China. Hochul, who visited the country earlier this week, called her trip a “solidarity mission” that she said would show that New York “will stand with Israel, today, tomorrow and forever.”

Florida has one of the largest Jewish populations in the United States. DeSantis has been a staunch defender of Israel during his time as governor and has already twice visited the nation during the past five years. He met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a week-long international trade mission that took him across the globe.

DeSantis has called for increased sanctions against Iran in the wake of the Hamas attacks, and state legislators are poised to enact the governor’s proposal in a special session that will be held between now and the end of the year. Jeremy Redfern, a spokesperson for the governor, said that the exact date and scope of the session were “being worked out between legislative leadership and our office.”

DeSantis also last week declared a state of emergency due to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, a move that allowed him to tap into a state emergency fund that has been used to pay for charter flights from Israel. So far, chartered flights DeSantis helped organize transported more than 500 Americans back to the United States and more flights are expected over the weekend.

DeSantis has tried to draw a contrast between his efforts and those by the Biden administration, criticizing the State Department for shipping some Americans to Greece and requiring people to reimburse the federal government. His presidential campaign has even started selling t-shirts that say DeSantis Airways on them.

The Orlando Sentinel, however, reported on Friday that nearly two dozen Americans that Florida tried to evacuate were briefly stranded for a few days in Cyprus. Bryan Stern, CEO of Project Dynamo, put the blame on a vendor hired by Florida which was in a “rush to get a flight loaded and off the ground.”

Businessperson Perry Johnson has dropped out of the race for the GOP nomination for president, ending a mostly self-funded campaign.

Johnson is the third candidate to drop out of the race following Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and former Rep. Will Hurd.

The announcement comes after the RNC didn’t qualify Johnson for the first debate in August and the second debate in September. Johnson appeared to qualify for the first debate, but the RNC deemed the qualifying polls ineligible. He was unlikely to make it to the third debate, which had much higher thresholds.

“I must admit, the corruption among leaders at the RNC during this process was appalling,” Johnson said in a statement Friday. “Not only was the debate process set up to keep outsiders off the stage and without a voice, but when we did meet their arbitrary metrics, corrupt leaders used their authoritarian power to kick me off the stage at 11 p.m. the Monday before the debate, despite our team working with Fox News all weekend on logistics.”

“With no opportunity to share my vision on the debate stage, I have decided at this time, suspending my campaign is the right thing to do,” Johnson continued.

While Johnson has suspended his campaign, he plans to keep a small political team on staff “in the event the dynamics of the race change.”

Johnson engaged in a number of gimmicks to pull in the number of donors debate qualifications required. Johnson offered donors a $10 gas gift card in exchange for a $1 donation for the first debate. The candidate also organized a “Big and Rich” concert for anyone who donated $1 to his campaign. After the RNC announced that Johnson had not qualified for the debate, Johnson started the Defend Them PAC to defend those “who are facing politically motivated charges stemming from the 2020 elections.” Johnson vowed to personally match up to $1 million.

Johnson, 75, announced his candidacy in March and touted his plan to cut federal spending by 2 percent every year if elected. Johnson largely self-funded his campaign, lending his campaign $8.4 million so far, according to campaign finance documents filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Throughout the campaign, Johnson appeared heavily on Newsmax, but very little on national news outlets. Johnson had a recurring reality show called “Backstage Pass” that aired on Newsmax every Sunday night. The show chronicled the everyday life of what it’s like to run for president.

Johnson has never held a public office before. He ran for Michigan governor in 2022 but was deemed by the state’s elections bureau to have filed thousands of fraudulent nominating signatures.

The businessperson gained a majority of his wealth when he founded Perry Johnson Registers in 1994. The company audits and certifies other firms as meeting international standards for quality management systems.