The feud between U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds and Ron DeSantis continues to heat up, even as the Congressman calls it a “dumb story.”
During an interview on the Fox Business Network, the Southwest Florida Congressman bristled at DeSantis World claiming Donalds, a Republican, is siding with Vice President Kamala Harris’ criticisms of Florida’s Black history standards.
“This is a dumb story, and this is brought to us by the DeSantis campaign. They’re the ones who made this an issue. I’ve been very clear that the standards are robust; they are accurate. They are good,” Donalds said. “Students in Florida will learn Black history.”
“But my issue is with one sentence of the entire thing, one sentence of 200 pages,” Donalds continued. “And the DeSantis team wants to make a big issue out of it. That’s ridiculous.”
The 216-page set of guidelines includes instruction to middle school students on “how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”
DeSantis said Thursday he wasn’t “picking a fight” with Donalds, who supports DeSantis’ rival in the 2024 GOP Primary, Donald Trump. But DeSantis accused Donalds of siding with “liberals” rather than choosing to “stand up for (his) state.”
“Floridians should stand up for Florida. Don’t side with Kamala Harris and liberals who are demagoguing this,” DeSantis said.
Donalds rejects that framing Friday.
“For people who are thinking about, well, where do I stand? Do I stand with Florida? I’ve always stood with Florida. I did it when I was in the state Legislature. I stand for Florida now as a member of Congress. I’m one of the members up here fighting hard against this radical agenda from the (Joe) Biden-Harris administration,” Donalds said.
“So, my stance on where I am politically is very, very clear. But if I have an issue with one sentence, I’m allowed to have that. The fact that they made this a story is dumb in my view”
The story isn’t likely to go away. DeSantis’ super PAC identifies Donalds now as a member of the “Trump campaign” in a tweet highlighting the Governor’s position.
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