DeSantis responds to neo-Nazi rallies, says criticism is ‘smear’ job by Democrats
Gov. Ron DeSantis deflected criticism on Monday for not immediately condemning a series of neo-Nazi demonstrations in Orlando over the weekend and after his press secretary deleted a controversial tweet suggesting the protesters were not real Nazis.
During a mid-afternoon press conference in Wellington, DeSantis blamed Democrats over what he said was an attempt to “smear” his record with Florida’s Jewish community and said the demonstrators, whom he called “jackasses” and “malcontents,” would be held accountable for blocking Orlando roads.
“These people, these Democrats, who are trying to use this as some type of political issue to try and smear me as if I had something to do with it, we are not playing their game,” DeSantis said. “Some jackasses doing this on the street .... First of all, state law enforcement is going to hold them accountable because they were doing stuff on the overpass, so they are absolutely going to be doing that and they should do that.”
His comments follow a day of widespread condemnation over statements made by his press secretary, Christina Pushaw, suggesting that the people in images that surfaced of the groups — some of whom could be seen in videos doing Nazi salutes and holding a banner with swastikas — could be Democratic operatives.
“Do we even know if they are Nazis? Or is this a stunt like the ‘white nationalists’ who crashed the Youngkin rally in Charlottesville pretending to be Dem staffers?” Pushaw tweeted.
She was referring to a campaign stunt from last October in Charlottesville, Virginia, when five people carrying tiki torches stood in front of a campaign bus of then-gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin. That stunt turned out to be orchestrated by The Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump Republican group. It was a visual reference to the torch-lit white supremacist rally in Charlottesville in 2017 during which a car plowed into a crowd of people opposing the rally. One woman was killed.
Pushaw deleted her initial tweet and said she regretted her “flippant” tone, adding that DeSantis opponents were smearing him as a “Nazi sympathizer.”
ADL calls it ‘thoughtless and careless’
The Anti-Defamation League of Florida released a statement on Monday, saying Pushaw’s statements showed a “thoughtless and careless approach.”
“We are alarmed that @ChristinaPushaw would first give cover to antisemites rather than immediately and forcefully condemning their revolting, hate-filled rally and assault,” the organization said on Twitter.
This is not the first time the ADL of Florida has criticized Pushaw over antisemitism. Last November, Pushaw tweeted and then deleted comments about the Republic of Georgia’s policy to require vaccine passports at establishments like restaurants. She linked it to a visit from the Rothschilds, a reference often used by extremists to peddle a conspiracy theory of Jewish families controlling global banking.
At least one video from Sunday’s demonstrations in Orlando over the weekend showed members of the extremist groups punching a bystander in the middle of a road. According to the ADL, the demonstrations in Orlando were part of what they called “Weekend of Hate,” a nationwide movement supported by three main organizations with antisemitic and racist ideologies: Goyim Defense League, the New Jersey European Heritage Association, and the National Socialist Movement.
Lawmakers condemn the incidents
Lawmakers across Florida, both Democrats and Republicans, swiftly condemned the incidents and called on other officials to do the same. State Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, an Orlando Democrat who represents the area where antisemitic banners were unfurled, said he was appalled to see the rallies.
“They are NEVER welcome here. All Floridians should be alarmed by the rise of extremism and white supremacy in our state. We have to stop it!” said Smith.
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott also tweeted on Sunday night against the rallies and said he stood in support of Florida’s Jewish community.
“The hateful & anti-Semitic demonstrations reported in Florida today have no place in our state. Across America, we’ve seen a heartbreaking & disgusting rise in hate like this. We must always condemn it & continue to stand strongly with our Jewish communities,” he said.
On Monday, DeSantis also defended himself by touting his record with the Jewish community, citing Florida’s relationship with Israel and his efforts to offer support to Jewish day schools.
“Florida is probably — God, maybe other than Israel — the number one destination for Orthodox Jews to move to, because we do it right. We have provided tremendous support and that is just what we are going to continue to do in the state of Florida, ” DeSantis said.
He added that Democrats “try to play games to politicize” antisemitism.
“Why would they do that? Why would they want to elevate a half-dozen malcontents and try to make this an issue for political gain? Well, because they want to distract from the failure that we’ve seen with Biden. And they’re all joined at the hip, all these policies they all support in Florida 100%,” he said.
This story was originally published January 31, 2022 at 7:32 PM.
