Fox News’ Bret Baier pressed Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over his black history curriculum in an interview Monday night.
Baier said DeSantis “doubled down” by saying anyone criticizing the new curriculum, including Republican Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, were “essentially siding with Vice President Kamala Harris or the Democrats.” Baier asked if it was a “fight worth having.”
“We didn’t pick the fight, Bret,” DeSantis replied. “Kamala Harris got on a jet at taxpayer expense, and flew to Florida to lie about the African American history standards that were developed.
“Understood,” Baier replied.
“Why is this important, though?” DeSantis said. “You can’t bend the knee to the left’s lies. When the left lies and creates these phony narratives. You’ve got to push back.”
DeSantis continued by saying “Republicans bend the knee” leading to one thing after another. He said the issue is related to the fight over “indoctrination in schools.” (RELATED: Florida To Move Forward With African American History Standards Despite Backlash)
Very strong interview from @RonDeSantis with @BretBaier on Fox News.
Stark difference between his clarity and focus on fixing our country, and Trump’s stumbles and focus on himself! https://t.co/8ugizUa61S
— Matt Wolking (@MattWolking) August 1, 2023
“We eliminated critical race theory a couple years ago. When we did that, the media lied and the left lied saying you don’t want to teach about African American history,” DeSantis said. “These standards were born out of the fight against CRT because this is true history. So to take something in demagogue it like that, that’s bad faith.”
He argued “this was a public process,” and people could have “raised objections.”
“No one said anything about this,” he said. “They were being lauded for the job that they did by people across the political spectrum. Now Harris comes in and parachutes?”
DeSantis suggested Republicans should have pushed back against Harris.
The Florida Department of Education (DOE) adopted African American History standards on July 19, which included lessons on what skills slaves developed for their own personal benefit, including carpentry, tailoring or blacksmithing. The curriculum received criticism from Republicans and Democrats, including Kamala Harris, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, and Donalds.