Gov. Ron DeSantis believes that toll roads in New York City are really just an elaborate grift, with money collected not going to repairs at all.
During remarks Saturday in Clinton, Iowa, the 2024 Republican presidential candidate fumed about the cash collection and contended the money really is just enriching the Democratic "machine."
"I don't know if you guys have ever driven around New York City. I mean, you can spend, if you go to, you know, a few boroughs you can spend $60 or $70 on tolls in one day, no questions asked. You definitely can do that," DeSantis told people in a town with less than 25,000 people near the Illnois border.
He wasn't remotely finished, however.
"And yet these are like the worst roads in America. It's like, how do you charge that much for tolls and every road, I mean, I get motion sickness just driving on these roads," DeSantis continued.
"And I think the reason is it goes to special interests, it goes to the Democrat machine and they use it to launder and keep support for the party. That's where the money is going because I can tell you it's not going to make the roads better," DeSantis said.
DeSantis' allegations of graft notwithstanding, the New York Times notes that tolls may be on the increase due to persistent budget deficits, with a London-style congestion pricing model being mulled.
