Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried is more likely to be seen on MSNBC than heard on conservative talk radio.
But when it comes to Gov. Ron DeSantis, the former Agriculture Commissioner is finding common ground with Roger Stone.
Republicans weren’t thrilled by the cross-party dialogue.
A DeSantis spox called this evidence of “contrived, politically motivated astroturf campaign against the Governor and First Lady” ahead of the broadcast Thursday night. And Florida GOP Chair Evan Power called it “extremely disappointing,” given that Fried “has said horrible things about our President and Governor.”
But Stone, a staunch Donald Trump loyalist, called Fried a “longtime friend” ahead of her segment on WABC, in which they discussed what Stone said might be the “greatest single corruption scandal in Florida history,” regarding Hope Florida’s programming of $10 million from a settlement for dark money for political advocacy last year.
“I think people are going to be surprised by our conversation,” Fried said.
Indeed, there was very little daylight between the two, as they painted a picture of a corrupt Governor without guardrails and a state rendered dystopian by his mismanagement.
The conversation moved to what Stone called a “slush fund” related to Hope Florida, with Fried saying it funded “dark money PCs” designed to torpedo “the legalization of cannabis.”
“He seems to go completely nuts like the people of Florida have no right to question him,” Stone said of DeSantis.
Fried agreed.
“I’ve been bringing to light all of this corruption that Ron and Casey and his executive office has been doing for six years. And it’s good to see that the Republican Legislature, specifically in the Florida House, is finally understanding that this is not partisan. You know, uncovering corruption and making sure that we’re holding our elected officials to some type of standards and no one’s (above) the law,” Fried said.
“It’s almost as if Ron and Casey DeSantis think the law doesn’t apply to them,” Stone remarked, before bemoaning how the current administration has “gutted the Sunshine Laws.”
Fried went on to offer her perspective on the lead up to DeSantis’ failed presidential run.
“(Current Attorney General) James Uthmeier and other key leadership inside the governor’s office were making phone calls to state representatives and lobbyists holding over their heads the budget and these bills to get endorsements for his presidential run, get money into the coffers for that presidential run,” Fried said, describing events in 2023 before the official launch.
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