A.G. Gancarski
Ron DeSantis said Monday that he’s not backing down from his defense of Florida educational standards regarding slavery and Black history, and he expects more from Republicans than to “bend the knee” to critics on the left like Vice President Kamala Harris.
During an interview with Bret Baier on Fox News “Special Report,” the Florida Governor and 2024 presidential candidate responded to criticisms from Republicans, including U.S. Sen. Tim Scott and U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, of language in the state’s 216-page set of guidelines governing classroom instruction on Black history that claims slavery conferred benefits to the enslaved.
“Kamala Harris got on a jet at taxpayer expense and flew to Florida to lie about the African American history standards that were developed,” DeSantis said.
The Governor said the issue illustrated why Republicans “can’t bend the knee to the left’s lies” and “when the left lies and creates these phony narratives, you’ve got to push back.”
“They’ve been doing this to Republicans for years and years. Republicans bend the knee and it’s just one thing after another,” DeSantis said.
The Governor said again that the Vice President shouldn’t have come to Florida to make the criticisms she did.
“Harris comes in and parachutes. What Republicans should have done is push back against her and say you are operating in bad faith,” DeSantis suggested. “These guys down in Florida, they didn’t have an agenda. They were just trying to shoot straight.”
“We know what the left does. Republicans, you cannot take that bait. You’ve got to fight back against these people,” the Governor said.
The Governor went on to accuse critics of working to “take something out of context and mangle it and accept (a) bad interpretation.”
“I would just challenge people to read them,” DeSantis said about the standards, before suggesting the real issue isn’t the language but his candidacy for higher office.
“If I wasn’t running for president or I wasn’t who I was, no one would have cared about this,” DeSantis said.
The Governor’s comments come after multiple Republican opponents have taken issue with the standards.
Sen. Scott critiqued DeSantis after a rally Thursday in Ankeny, Iowa.
“What slavery was really about was separating families, about mutilating humans and even raping their wives. It was just devastating. So I would hope that every person in our country — and certainly running for President — would appreciate that.”
“People have bad days,” Scott continued. “Sometimes they regret what they say. And we should ask them again to clarify their positions.”
During a Fox News interview with Neil Cavuto, Chris Christie said he agreed with Scott.
“I think that what they’ve done is wrong and worse yet, what I really criticized Gov. DeSantis for was when he said ‘I didn’t have anything to do with it and I didn’t know anything about it,’” Christie said. “Well, that’s not leadership. You know, that’s looking out at what’s going on in your state and saying you’re not responsible when you’re the Governor.”
Former Vice President Mike Pence also urges reconsideration.
“Slavery was evil and nothing good ever came from slavery,” Pence said in Iowa Sunday evening. “But I have a hard time believing that Florida intended to say anything other than that in their education standards. And I’d encourage the governor to take another look at it.”
29 comments
Wrong As White Can Be
July 31, 2023 at 7:30 pm
It’s the hill he wants to die on
Tom
August 1, 2023 at 7:36 am
I love the smell of napalm in the morning. It smells like (in this case) abject failure.
My Take
July 31, 2023 at 7:49 pm
Well well well.
The MAJORITY of the team were OPPOSED to the statement apparently.
How does that work?
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/florida-work-group-not-agree-controversial-parts-states-new-standards-rcna96490?cid=eml_mda_20230731&user_email=1cec2d9fe664965e59c74f4a4ef1dd0e39b195568be6c7c18c78c96f96f23373
My Take
July 31, 2023 at 7:57 pm
Dirty dirty dirty DirtSSantis lies and lies and lies.
Goebbels was very short too . . . but not pudgy.
And spoke a lot better.
Ocean Joe
July 31, 2023 at 8:35 pm
When he went after the trans folk I didn’t have much to say.
When he went after the LGB folks, it just reminded me of how things used to be.
But going after Black Americans by distorting their all too often obscured history is a bridge too far.
When he says opposition to this is a “false narrative” he’s wrong.
Our schools teach a course on communism vs. democracy, passed by the rightwing legislature.
Wonder if the standards for that include the benefits of communism, and if they did, how Cuban American voters who keep Republicans in office would react. I see no difference, other than whose ox is being gored, like going after selected unions while leaving those that support him alone.
It’s time for him to drop out of the presidential race. Even Republicans know he went too far, and nobody thinks that committee did anything without his approval.
My Take
July 31, 2023 at 8:53 pm
By most accounts, Communism substantially improved Cuban health care overall. I wonder if that gets taught.
Surely.
Mystical universe
July 31, 2023 at 11:08 pm
Wowww! You summed it all up perfectly beautiful reflection 🪞! I agree with and cosign what you wrote.
The only difference is that; I am opposed to anyone experiencing any kind of oppression, suppression or injustices committed unfairly to them because of their nationality, sexual orientation, political affiliation, religious beliefs, social class or economic status. I know the reason behind my own personal thought process.
It’s because I’m a sunkissed women of color who has two sunkissed children of color and who has experience painful bouts of racism, oppression, suppression and unfair injustices happen to Me, my family, children and other people in my race who was kissed by the sun too. I know how badly it feels to be mistreated, hurt, harmed, demeaned, belittled, taken advantage of , discarded and overlooked. All because the universe placed my beautiful soul into a sunkissed earthly vehicle of color . I didn’t asked to be brown.
That’s the lucky draw of cards the universe gifted me with at birth because she knew I would be raised by a strong militant Sunkissed father who was apart of the Black Panther party in the late 70’s in Boston Massachusetts. She knew he would raise me to read and learn about my people, heritage, powerful history and more early in life. By the time I was three I was reading . By the time I hit Kindergarten I was taught about Malcolm x Marcus Garvey, Maya Angelou and more because I attend an all translucent people of no color school. He always said White teachers can’t teach real sunkissed history of color to sunkissed children of color because they are always hiding, changing, omitting, and rearranging our real history to benefit them . I was one of two sunkissed students of color in my elementary school from kindergarten through sixth grade. Alli learned about for six years in a row was about docile Martin Luther King and Tired Rosa Parks. I was never taught about slavery and it horrible nature until my father sat me down to watch Roots at 7. I did exactly the same thing for my children. I can’t leave( teaching my children about them and their rich history) up to teachers and government workers who are erasing and white washing our history. So they can feel better about what their ancestors did to my beautiful sunkissed ancestors of color!
Sorry for rambling but your comment was the best yet that I read on here thus far. Love, peace and blessings I bid unto you and yours. I apologize for and misspelled words or grammatical errors in advance.
Michael K
August 1, 2023 at 9:38 am
Thank you.
SteveHC
July 31, 2023 at 8:57 pm
Would somebody please take the shovel away from this guy…
My Take
July 31, 2023 at 9:12 pm
Roehm DeSStuermer:
“Mosquitoes and fleas avoid biting the thickened skin of lash scars. Another benefit!”
My Take
July 31, 2023 at 9:19 pm
Why is there not more attention on who exactly was (ir)responsible for including the distortion?
(Which I personally think was entirely intèntional and wìth ìndoctrination purpose.)
My Take
August 1, 2023 at 4:29 am
Who over-ruled the majority?
Who? Name names.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/florida-work-group-not-agree-controversial-parts-states-new-standards-rcna96490
My Take
August 1, 2023 at 4:46 am
I see now that who was involved has been reported. For some reason I could not get the final text in a news story but can now.
I wonder still, where the push comes from. Why the insistance on emphasizing what must have been of very minor incidence? The, “It’s well documented,” without demonstration, also reminds me too much of Trump’s claims of massive voter fraud.
My Take
July 31, 2023 at 9:27 pm
On state-approved geography textbook and other classroom maps:
How is Israel màpped? Alongside “Oćcupied Territories” or “Palestine” or “disputed territories”?
JD
July 31, 2023 at 9:37 pm
“Ronald McDonald” needs to go. Resign from Florida and drop out of the race and go become a well paid lobbyist while he can before the clown car crashes.
Or more aptly before first mate Xtina at the tiller crashes that ship of fools with Captain Bobble asleep in his cabin.
PeterH
July 31, 2023 at 9:54 pm
Please don’t ever expect Ron DeSantis to apologize for his hateful actions and remarks!
My Take
July 31, 2023 at 11:59 pm
Thanks.
That was worth reading.
Regarding the Black Panthers, I sometimes will intentionally show some goobers my copy of “Barbeque’n with Bobby” by Bobby Seale.
KurtinOC
August 1, 2023 at 1:15 am
Florida is a shit hole.. A laughingstock … A racist shit hole. You elected this clown as your Governor?
My Take
August 1, 2023 at 1:40 am
It’s the sultry Caribbean climate.
He’s kind of like Baby Doc.
My Take
August 1, 2023 at 1:59 am
The characterizations are getting blunter:
Vanity Fair — “Ron DeSantis’s “Slavery Was a Good Thing” Curriculum.”
Perspective Thought
August 1, 2023 at 4:08 am
Too many are thinking in one perspective. I honestly don’t thing anyone was saying Slavery was or is a good thing. The point I take from the stance of trying to highlight the good things that came out of horrible things. The majority of modern medicine was the result of terrible experiments, wars, and pandemics. Hard times build strong people. Nothing ever justifies slavery, oppression, or mistreatment of others; but they do happen, and sadly will continue in some cycle, best you can do is grow stronger from it, and not be a victim from it.
My Take
August 1, 2023 at 4:58 am
Why was a rare to exceedingly rare benefit pushèd so vigorously for emphasis?
That is a main question. And may have an unseemly answer.
Dont Say FLA
August 1, 2023 at 7:23 am
It’s so when kids grow up, they show gratitude toward their billionaire plantation owners for the pennies tossed to them. It shouldn’t matter that compensation is mere pennies compared to each C-suite and owner dollar earned. The learned to do a pivot table. With that, someday they’ll be rich, too. It’s trickle down economics at work, at work.
Rhonda was just trying to con his lazy Maggas and their lazy kids into going back to work and actually working, because if that happened, it would alleviate the border “crisis” where the so-called “crisis” has gone on for so long because, to the powers that be, the border is not the problem, it’s the solution.
The border isn’t a problem or solution. The border is made up political boundaries that determines which group of men with gun takes your money to “keep you safe.” That’s an aside, really. The border isn’t the issue. The ruling class in USA is the issue. The Ivy League types. The wannabees who were also born to be due to whoever their daddy was. They’re the problem. It’s them.
KD
August 1, 2023 at 1:26 pm
More DeSantis lies. He was involved. And a true leader would actually take ownership of it!
He constantly got involved in micromanage the school boards by firing people sticking his people in positions.
So to say he had nothing to do with it is an outright cowardly lie and like everything he tries to deflect all the wring he’s done in FL to the Anerican people. He doesn’t care about blacks because he knew he wouldn’t get their vote anyway. He gerrymandering by forcing districts in N Florida by the one he re drew etc. And if Latinos that vote for him and Trump or any other GOP haven’t learned by now they don’t care about you either then you never will.
Ron DiSaster
August 1, 2023 at 2:04 pm
It’s been actually incredible to see how far and fast this guy’s political career imploded. All completely self-inflicted too.
My Take
August 1, 2023 at 5:04 pm
He will figure in Ameriçan political science discussions for a good while.
Not a few theses will be written on his stark fall.
My Take
August 1, 2023 at 5:21 pm
What will “Sweet on Slavery” DeSSgustus declare about Trump”s next indictment?
It will help change the subject.
My Take
August 2, 2023 at 1:07 am
New message from QAnon reveals convergence of two major news thrusts:
UFOs are not here to study us, or probe us, or (the worst fear) abduct us to eat us.
They are slave catchers: abducting us to work mercilessly on their hellish farm planets. Though a few humans may learn simple maintainence of the laser plows, that might come in handy if they are ever freed..
Would Q lie?
wendy
August 2, 2023 at 7:55 am
“If I wasn’t running for president or I wasn’t who I was, no one would have cared about this,” DeSantis said.
True. If he wasn’t a fascist wannabe dictator trying to take away rights from everyone except his nazi pals, we wouldn’t care.
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