Ron DeSantis got his BA from Yale, and his law degree from Harvard. But these credentials have not stopped the Republican presidential contender from spewing out a toxic slurry of ignorant bigotry regarding the Palestinian men, women, and children who have been forced to flee from Israel’s “complete siege” of Gaza.

In a CBS Face the Nation interview regarding the conflict, which has seen thousands of Israelis and Palestinians die since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israeli kibbutizim and a music festival, DeSantis refused to say—as a former Navy Judge Advocate General Corps legal adviser—that he’d advise that Israel’s massive assault on Gaza should be doing more to distinguish between legitimate military targets and civilians. He declined to call for the Israeli military to avoid attacking essential infrastructure for the 2.4 million Palestinians living in Gaza. And he declared that, because Hamas is holding Israeli and American hostages in Gaza, “I don’t think [the Israelis are] under an obligation to be providing water and these utilities while those hostages are being held”—despite the fact that the denial of food, water, and electricity has created a humanitarian crisis that’s recognized by the United Nations, aid agencies and many responsible Israelis. Asked about the devastating impact of Israel’s bombing of civilian targets in Gaza, which has now left an estimated 1,000 children dead, DeSantis said, “It’s not a collective punishment.”