WASHINGTON — Hours after Republican U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis cruised to an easy win in the race to become his party's nominee for Florida governor, he found himself facing criticism for one of his remarks.
DeSantis, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, will face Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, a progressive Democrat, in the November election. According to CNN, Gillum, who was endorsed by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is Florida's first African-American gubernatorial nominee.
DeSantis spoke about his opponent in a Fox News interview Wednesday.
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"He is an articulate spokesman for those far-left views, and he's a charismatic candidate," DeSantis said. "You know, I watched those Democrat debates. None of that was my cup of tea, but, I mean, he performed better than the other people there. So we've got to work hard to make sure that we continue Florida going in a good direction. Let's build off the success that we've had on Gov. [Rick] Scott. The last thing we need to do is to monkey this up by trying to embrace a socialist agenda."
Wow. Rep. Ron DeSantis on Fox News speaking about his black Democratic opponent in the Florida gubernatorial race, Andrew Gillum: "The last thing we need to do is to monkey this up." pic.twitter.com/S8YoNCaQAw
— Travis (@travislylesnews) August 29, 2018
Some slammed DeSantis' word choice, saying his "monkey this up" comment had racial undertones.
He really just said “monkey this up.” pic.twitter.com/rqCU4cvcQH
— deray (@deray) August 29, 2018
“Monkey this up,” is not a phrase anyone uses. Unless they are applying for a membership to MAR-O-Lago. The people who keep defending this racist president and his cohorts will be sorry when they have to explain to their mixed gay children what they did.
— Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) August 29, 2018
No one really uses the expression “monkey this up,” even when they’re not running against a black man for governor It isn’t whether he intended that to be racist. It was racist. No walkback changes that. Nothing to add. https://t.co/Tr0GsJXUOx
— Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) August 29, 2018
When the words “monkey this up” are used to refer to electing a man of color, that would be a blatant ... https://t.co/SaLDWdlUgF https://t.co/r9yNl2DF4P
— Dictionary.com (@Dictionarycom) August 29, 2018
Gillum accused DeSantis of "taking a page directly from the campaign manual of Donald Trump."
"But I think he's got another thing coming to him if he thinks that in today's day and age ... Florida voters are going to respond to that level of derision and division," Gillum told Fox News. "They're sick of it."
A spokesman for DeSantis issued a clarification to Fox News on Wednesday afternoon:
"Ron DeSantis was obviously talking about Florida not making the wrong decision to embrace the socialist policies that Andrew Gillum espouses," the statement said. "To characterize it as anything else is absurd."
Trump surprised Florida Republicans with his endorsement of DeSantis, and frequently tweeted about the lawmaker, one of his staunchest supporters in Washington. His backing helped push DeSantis past Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, who has held elected office in Florida since 1996, quickly built up establishment support and raised millions of dollars.
Gillum came from behind in a crowded and diverse Democratic field. Former Rep. Gwen Graham, whose father, Bob Graham, served as governor, had hoped to position herself to become the state’s first female governor.
Gillum, a favorite of progressives, spent the least of the five major Democratic candidates and had the smallest television presence. He often said he was the only candidate in the race who wasn’t a millionaire or billionaire, and won the endorsement of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott is vacating the governor’s mansion to run for Senate.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Cox Media Group
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