Republican gubernatorial nominee Byron Donalds talked about his plans to make Florida more affordable and defended President Donald Trump's economic and foreign policy during an appearance Friday on NBC’s Meet the Press NOW.
The Florida congressman defeated defeated Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, political newcomer James Fishback and eight other Republicans in Tuesday’s primary. He will compete against Democrat David Jolly in November. If Donalds wins, he would be Florida’s first Black governor.
On NBC's Meet the Press NOW, Donalds said wants to tackle Florida's high property insurance rates by focusing on tort reform and "supercharge some of our home hardening programs" for properties built before 1992 when Hurricane Andrew devastated South Florida.
READ MORE: Byron Donalds coasts to victory in Republican gubernatorial primary. Will face Democrat David Jolly
He said he would also revisit property tax cuts — if Florida voters reject Amendment 3 in November.
If approved by 60% of voters, the proposed constitutional amendment would raise Florida's homestead exemption to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, reduce the assessment-growth cap for non-homestead residential and commercial properties from 10% to 5%, and create a pathway toward eliminating non-school property taxes on homesteads.
"If they don't vote for it, we're going to bring that issue back through our Tax and Budget Reform Commission next year with the goal of eliminating homestead property taxes in the state of Florida," Donalds told NBC's Meet the Press NOW host Kristen Kristen Welker.
Donalds also said he would boost the supply and price of homes by reducing the costs of construction permits. He said the government permitting process adds 20% to 30% to the cost of building a home.
"We want to modernize that entire process, shrink those timelines down, pushing down the costs of delivering homes to working families in our state," he said.
Trump's economy, high gas prices, Iran war
Asked about President Trump's handling of the economy, Donalds said the president has done "incredibly well," noting wages are higher and GDP growth is positive. He added that his congressional support for reducing taxes on tips and lower small business taxes has also boosted the economy.
He said the rise in gas prices is a small price to pay compared to having Iran with nuclear weapons.
"Do I want to see $4 gas? No, I do not. I don't want anybody to have to pay that," he said. "But we also have to understand that if the Iranians had a nuclear weapon, that would put major geopolitical pressure on the United States, and our allies, not to mention economic strain on our allies and us as well because it would give the Iranians more control over the Strait of Hormuz if they had a nuclear weapon."
In further defending Trump's, Donalds said the president has not committed troops on the ground in Iran and won't spend years fighting "never-ending military entanglements like we saw in Afghanistan and Iraq."
Donalds dismissed criticism from David Jolly, the Democratic nominee for governor, who has said Florida voters want change and that Donalds represents a continuation of Gov. DeSantis.
"Let's be very clear," said Donalds. "People are choosing to come to the state of Florida because they've left New York, they've left New Jersey, they've left California, they've left Oregon.
"They've left those states for a reason and they come to Florida because Florida is a common sense state where we prioritize law and order, limited government free markets, we leave people alone and they want to be a part of the Florida dream."
"David Jolly says he wants change, but what I fail to realize is that when you're the number one state in all of America and you run the list, look at every metric," he said. "Florida is number one top to bottom. Why would you change from that?"
