Hey! Have you heard? GOP congressman and Florida gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis is a bona fide racist. Just look what he said about his black opponent Andrew Gillum:
Uh Ron DeSantis just said FL shouldn't "monkey this up" by electing Andrew Gillum pic.twitter.com/nDPp3Hx7zc
— Steve Morris (@stevemorris__) August 29, 2018
The Hill was on it:
DeSantis: Florida voters shouldn’t "monkey this up" by voting for black candidate https://t.co/8EERcqojvQ pic.twitter.com/72M4jtKGtP
— The Hill (@thehill) August 29, 2018
And by “on it,” we mean “on drugs.” Because — as The Hill’s own article acknowledges — this is what DeSantis actually said:
“Let’s build off the success we’ve had on Gov. Scott. The last thing we need to do is to monkey this up by trying to embrace a socialist agenda with huge tax increases bankrupting the state. That is not going to work,” DeSantis said.
That’s very different from The Hill’s headline. But the outrage factor is all that matters these days, so mission accomplished.
Not what he said. Otherwise, nice job everyone.
— Chris Tsotsoros (@ctsotsoros) August 29, 2018
Shame on The Hill. This is literally fake news. https://t.co/dmeHEFuxEj
— Sister Toldjah ? (@sistertoldjah) August 29, 2018
This headline is wildly misleading. The actual quote was that the voters should not "monkey this up by enacting a socialist agenda with huge tax increases." At least be accurate. https://t.co/uEWCkLHtVv
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) August 29, 2018
The Hill is at it again. He said, "The last thing we need to do is to monkey this up by trying to embrace a socialist agenda with huge tax increases and bankrupting the state."
I don't know what was in his heart, but this is deliberately misleadinghttps://t.co/JyTfwpGoPe
— David Rutz (@DavidRutz) August 29, 2018
Is Ron DeSantis a closet racist? Who the hell knows? But based on this quote alone, it’s grossly unfair to call him one.
Wow I thought @thehill was above this kind of paranoid race baiting. Wait, no I didn’t. LOL
— Will Davis (@willpdavis) August 29, 2018
I guess now we're all supposed to forget that "monkey wrench" is, or at least used to be, a fairly common term for sabotaging or screwing something up. https://t.co/sh9OmpDuXG
— John Hayward (@Doc_0) August 29, 2018
I stood up for Elizabeth Warren, whom I dislike, and I'll stand up for Ron DeSantis, whom I dislike, because both got raw treatments from video clips.
To monkey up is to do a bad job. I've heard it used before, it always seemed weird to me, but there is no racial component. https://t.co/WWR1Zcr5dM
— (((≠))) (@ThomasHCrown) August 29, 2018
For what it’s worth, FNC’s Sandra Smith is doing damage control anyway:
Fox News' Sandra Smith on Ron DeSantis' "monkey this up" comment: "We do not condone this language, and wanted to make our viewers aware that he has since clarified his statement" https://t.co/WFHNpc5Zra
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) August 29, 2018
Sigh.
***
Update:
Oh, look. ABC News is getting in on it, too:
Just hours after winning GOP nomination for Florida governor, Ron DeSantis said the last thing Floridians should do is “monkey this up” by electing his African-American opponent Andrew Gillum. https://t.co/gXvw4AnlJo pic.twitter.com/Ia4QZbT4qO
— ABC News (@ABC) August 29, 2018
Pathetic.
Just hours after winning the GOP nomination for Florida governor, the media attempted to inject racism where there was no racism involved. https://t.co/KYxGiSgof0
— Meech (@michi83) August 29, 2018