Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis shut down a reporter at a Thursday press conference in Jerusalem, Israel, who asked about allegations made by a Guantanamo Bay prisoner.
A former Guantanamo Bay prisoner, Mansoor Adayfi, alleged that DeSantis witnessed the force-feeding he allegedly endured during the hunger strike in 2006, according to The Independent. The Florida governor was stationed on the base between March 2006 and January 2007 when he served in the U.S. Navy Reserve.
DeSantis clapped back at a reporter who asked about the reports.
“No, no, all that’s BS. Totally BS,” DeSantis said. “Who said that? How would they know me? Okay, think about that. Do you honestly believe that’s credible? So this is 2006, I’m a junior officer, do you honestly think that they would have remembered me from Adam, of course not. They’re just trying to get into the news because they know people like you will consume it because it fits your pre-ordained narrative that you’re trying to spin. Focus on the facts and stop worrying about narratives.”
DeSantis told Piers Morgan in a previous interview that there may have been a commander force-feeding a prisoner if someone was going to die otherwise, but that he “didn’t have authority” to do so as a junior officer, The Independent reported. (RELATED: ‘Where Is That Coming From?’: Gov. DeSantis Pushes Back After Reporter Confronts Him About So-Called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill)
The U.S. government has denied that force-feeding the prisoners is a form of torture, and it has been used during hunger strikes, the outlet reported. Hunger strikes and violent riots occurred in 2006.
DeSantis has previously called out the media for pushing a narrative, specifically with its coverage of the Florida Parental Rights bill, which bans classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity through third grade. He accused one reporter at a March 2022, press conference of pushing a false narrative by calling the bill the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, though the legislation mentioned nothing about being able to say the word “gay.”