Ron DeSantis gives Francis Suarez a pass on Uyghur gaffe

During a Fox News interview on Wednesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis danced around a question about another Floridian presidential candidate’s foreign policy gaffe.

Asked by host Martha MacCallum about Francis Suarez’s failure during a radio interview to recognize the Uyghurs in the context of a China discussion, the Florida Governor took the high road and didn’t discuss the Miami mayor’s mess up.

“I’m running my race. I’m going to beat (Joe) Biden. We’re going to get all this done. I’ll let these other guys handle themselves,” DeSantis said.

During an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt, Suarez was holding forth about China, but froze up when asked about an ethnic minority oppressed by the communist regime in Beijing.

Hewitt asked Suarez, “Will you be talking about the Uyghurs in your campaign,” leading to an ignominious response.

“What the what? What’s a Uyghur,” Suarez responded.

Hewitt pivoted, but not before scolding Suarez, telling him that he’s “got to get smart on that.”

Nearly six hours after the interview, Suarez attempted damage control.

“Of course, I am well aware of the suffering of the Uyghurs in China. They are being enslaved because of their faith. China has a deplorable record on human rights and all people of faith suffer there. I didn’t recognize the pronunciation my friend Hugh Hewitt used. That’s on me.”

DeSantis managed to move the discussion from Suarez’s slip up to a condemnation of The Walt Disney Co. for doing business in China.

“It’s one of the grossest violations of human rights anywhere in the world. We’ve had to tussle with Disney. And one of the things we pointed out is that they were attacking Florida over parents’ rights and education. Meanwhile, they’re filming movies right there where the Uyghurs are being prosecuted and they never said a word,” DeSantis said.

“I think that that’s one of the best examples of how the Chinese Communist Party fundamentally violates human rights.”