Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis accused GOP Florida Rep. Byron Donalds of “siding” with left-wing media and politicians in his criticism of Florida’s education curriculum.
Donalds argued that a portion of the new curriculum teaching about the “various duties and trades” performed by slaves “is wrong and needs to be adjusted.” Prominent Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris, have also condemned the curriculum, which includes instruction on “how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”
“The new African-American standards in FL are good, robust, & accurate,” Donalds wrote in a Wednesday tweet. “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 [Florida Department of Education] will correct this.”
The new African-American standards in FL are good, robust, & accurate. 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.https://t.co/muq8zi1p85
— Congressman Byron Donalds (@RepDonaldsPress) July 26, 2023
DeSantis accused Donalds, who has endorsed former President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign, of “siding with Kamala Harris.” In a Friday speech, Harris accused the curriculum of teaching students that “enslaved people benefited from slavery.” (RELATED: DeSantis Eviscerates Kamala Harris’ ‘Fake Narrative’ About Florida’s Education Curriculum)
“At the end of the day, you gotta choose,” the Florida governor said Thursday. “Are you gonna side with Kamala Harris and liberal media outlets or are you gonna side with the state of Florida? And I think it’s very clear that these guys did a good job on the standards. It wasn’t anything that was politically motivated, these are serious scholars.”
The course also teaches about the “conditions of slavery,” “African Americans who demonstrated heroism and patriotism” and those who made “positive contributions to the state of Florida,” according to the curriculum outline.
DeSantis’ staff also heaped criticism on Donalds in response to his tweet.
“Did Kamala Harris write this tweet?” wrote Christina Pushaw, the rapid response director for Team DeSantis.
Did Kamala Harris write this tweet?
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) July 26, 2023
“Laundering a lie for the White House isn’t a good look,” DeSantis press secretary Jeremy Redfern tweeted, adding in a separate tweet that Donalds “is not okay.”