Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., ripped the NAACP’s Florida chapter over news that it had asked the national organization to urge Black Americans to stay away from the state. This came in response to the governor's policies on educational requirements in Florida schools.
Reacting to a reporter bringing up the story, DeSantis on Thursday called it a "joke," "ridiculous," and dismissed it as a "stunt."
He then proceeded to hammer the media as hypocritical for reporting on Florida under his leadership in general, recalling how during COVID-19, journalists from major outlets would slam Florida’s pandemic protocols but would be vacationing in the state anyway.
During an address highlighting Florida’s school civics teachers on Thursday, a reporter asked DeSantis about the Florida’s NAACP missive to its nationwide branch, calling on it to issue an advisory to Black Americans traveling to Florida.
He asked, "Governor, the Florida chapter of the NAACP voted yesterday to ask the national branch to issue a travel advisory to Black Americans advising them not to come to Florida over the AP African American studies history controversy as well as the DEI (Diversity, Equality Inclusivity) ban."
As the journalist mentioned, the Florida NAACP voted unanimously last weekend to ask its national board to issue a travel advisory to ask people to avoid visiting and moving to the state.
Members of the state chapter pointed to Florida’s Department of Education compelling The College Board to remove CRT elements from an AP African American studies high school course as the reason for the ban.
Many in the media, including prominent Black figures like Al Sharpton, have claimed the education department’s decision is erasing Black history, and since DeSantis has endorsed the policy, they’ve accused the governor of whitewashing their history as well.
After fielding the question, DeSantis shot back: "What a joke. What a joke."
He added mockingly, "Yeah, we’ll see how effective that is," and then attacked the media’s coverage of his state.
He said, "Just remember, during COVID these people would be on CNN, all this stuff, slamming Florida, saying we were so bad, ‘Don’t go to Florida.’ And then they would end up being spotted on the beach somewhere vacationing in Florida."
"So this is just ridiculous," he added.
The governor then touted Florida’s successes, saying, "We’re proud to be leading the nation in tourism, I think we’ve led it for many years in a row now, and we really, I think we’ve had as good a year as we’ve ever had. ’22 was fantastic, ’21 was incredible. I mean I remember 2021 all the people coming down."
He added, "You couldn’t go on vacation to a lot of other states and be treated like a normal human being. "
Elsewhere, DeSantis slammed the Florida NAACP’s vote as a "stunt." He said, "This is a stunt to try to do that. It’s a pure stunt. And fine, if you wanna waste your time on a stunt, that’s fine. Look, I’m not wasting my time on your stunts, I’m gonna make sure that we’re getting things done here and we’re gonna continue to make this state a great state."
