On Sunday’s episode of “Meet the Press,” Gov. Ron DeSantis defended his record in dealing with the state’s recurrent neo-Nazi protests under his governorship, saying he acted “swiftly and decisively.”
“Our record is second to none and we will continue to lead on these issues,” DeSantis told host Kristin Welker.
Welker pressed DeSantis to respond to claims from Rep. Randy Fine, a former supporter of his who now backs Donald Trump, that DeSantis’ Florida turned a deliberate blind eye to neo-Nazi threats in recent months and years. In The Washington Times, Fine wrote that he was “jumped by a Nazi in Florida” two weeks ago, and that’s “no big deal” in DeSantis’ Florida.
The governor dismissed the claims of the only Jewish Republican in his state’s Legislature as an attempt to get “15 minutes of fame.”
“He’s just trying to create a name for himself,” said DeSantis. “So that’s all nonsense. Everybody knows that’s nonsense and don’t give somebody 15 minutes of fame just because they’re letting you try to, to do a preferred narrative just to hit me.”
“I mean, this guy was singing my praises a couple of months ago. He’s got his different reasons why he’s doing that,” DeSantis continued, undercutting Fine’s personal experience and reframing the discussion to his administration’s more aggressive response in the wake of Hamas’ attacks on Israel, which includes increased security around Jewish Day Schools and arrests of “people threatening to do harm to our Jewish community.”
Fine offered a response Sunday morning.
“I am very disappointed with the governor’s flippant response to the fears of thousands of Florida’s Jewish parents. I am even more disappointed that the governor continues to call the rise of Nazis in Florida ‘fake.’ The governor didn’t mind the fame of signing my bills to tackle antisemitism, in Israel no less; I am not interested in fame for pointing out his failure to use them. Instead of talking about me, he should protect Jewish children and families. I will fight for that for far more than 15 minutes,” the Brevard County legislator said.
Meanwhile, Welker’s inquiry suggests that the governor’s laissez-faire attitude toward the neo-Nazi protesters that have menaced Jewish people and others in major Florida cities resonates as a national red flag.
DeSantis, for his part, has expressed doubt that the neo-Nazis were even real, including at a recent town hall in New Hampshire, where it was clear the problem of displays of Nazi iconography in Florida proved to be a topic of interest beyond the state’s borders.
Asked about people who purported to be supporters of his who had “flags that said DeSantis 2024” and “Nazi, swastika flags,” DeSantis said he didn’t “think that they are” his supporters, before suggesting that the display was part of an “operation” against him.
“Well, first of all, when they’re doing that, understand those are not true supporters of mine, that is an operation to try to link me to something so that it’s me,” DeSantis said during an interview on WMUR’s “Conversations with the Candidate.”
“And what I would say is there are people that are doing things like that. They are trying to divide by using that as a weapon against me. Those were not my supporters because if they were my supporters, they would be on the side of every step I’ve taken, (there’s) been nobody that’s been stronger on these issues in any part of the country than me,” DeSantis said, regarding his pro-Israel policies and beefing up security at Jewish Day Schools.
Purported Nazi demonstrations have been on the uptick of late, with increased brazenness and visibility of the groups whether they brandish pro-DeSantis signs or not.
The governor occasionally has addressed them, such on one occasion when a group of neo-Nazis lined a bridge in eastern Orange County, hanging the swastika flag and banners – including a banner with the pro-Donald Trump slogan “Let’s Go Brandon” – and yelling profanities and antisemitic slurs at passing cars.
“Some jackasses doing this on the street, first of all, state law enforcement is going to hold them accountable because they were doing stuff on the overpass,” DeSantis said before going back on the political counteroffensive.
Meanwhile, former senior aides to his presidential campaign oversaw the creation and distribution of a video featuring a Nazi symbol: the sonnenrad, a circular symbol associated with Nazi Germany that appears near the end of the clip as something of a halo around the governor’s head.
DeSantis’ campaign fired one aide, speechwriter Nate Hochman, who shared the video and reportedly had a hand in creating it.