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- Florida middle schoolers will be taught that some Black “slaves developed skills” they could benefit from.
- Rep. Byron Donalds, the sole Black member of the state’s GOP congressional delegation, voiced his displeasure with that.
- In response, DeSantis’ campaign staffers compared Donalds to Vice President Kamala Harris.
After tweeting out condemnation of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ new educational standards requiring students to learn that some Black “slaves developed skills” they could benefit from, Rep. Byron Donalds has been inundated with attacks by DeSantis’ gubernatorial and presidential campaign staffers.
“The new African-American standards in FL are good, robust, & accurate,” Donalds tweeted Wednesday morning. “That being said, the attempt to feature the personal benefits of slavery is wrong & needs to be adjusted. That obviously wasn’t the goal & I have faith that FLDOE will correct this.”
Wednesday evening, hours after Donalds’ tweet was published, Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. took a jab at the congressman online.
“The federal government won’t dictate Florida’s education standards,” Diaz Jr. wrote. “This new curriculum is based on truth. We will not back down from teaching our nation’s true history at the behest of a woke White House, nor at the behest of a supposedly conservative congressman.”
A member of DeSantis’ presidential campaign and a fellow gubernatorial staffer also compared Donalds, the sole Black GOP congressman in Florida’s delegation, to Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black vice president of the United States, who recently traveled to Florida to excoriate the state for its new curriculum.
“Supposed conservatives in the federal government are pushing the same false narrative that originated from the White House,” DeSantis press secretary in the Executive Office of the Governor, Jeremy Redfern, tweeted. “Florida isn’t going to hide the truth for political convenience. Maybe the congressman shouldn’t swing for the liberal media fences like @VP.”
Christina Pushaw, the DeSantis presidential campaign’s rapid response director, simply responded to Donalds’ original tweet with a GIF of the vice president.
After receiving blowback from DeSantis’ team, Donalds responded by doubling down on his support for former President Donald Trump in the 2024 GOP primary race.
“What’s crazy to me is I expressed support for the vast majority of the new African American history standards and happened to oppose one sentence that seemed to dignify the skills gained by slaves as a result of their enslavement,” he wrote. “Anyone who can’t accurately interpret what I said is disingenuous and is desperately attempting to score political points. Just another reason why l’m proud to have endorsed President Donald J. Trump!”
Donalds, who’s in his second term in office, was nominated by several of his GOP peers to become the speaker of the House in early 2023, though the title was ultimately given to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. He’s since said on several occasions that he’s interested in running to replace DeSantis as governor when his term expires in January 2027.
