Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who introduced his 2024 presidential marketing campaign on what was previously often known as Twitter, is refusing to instantly condemn Elon Musk for his current resolution to endorse an antisemitic put up on his platform at a time when Jewish People are dealing with an increase in hate.
On Wednesday, an X consumer ― whose profile indicated he identifies as Jewish ― shared a video of an commercial about combating antisemitism. The consumer stated that anybody who anonymously posts “Hitler was proper” ought to “say it to our faces.”
One other consumer replied to the put up, accusing Jewish individuals of “pushing the precise sort of dialectical hatred in opposition to whites that they declare to need individuals to cease utilizing in opposition to them.” The consumer additionally advised that stated supposed conduct by Jews justifies hatred in opposition to them by “hordes of minorities that help flooding their nation,” a conspiracy idea linking Jewish individuals to nonwhite immigration that the gunman within the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue taking pictures subscribed to.
“You’ve stated the precise reality,” Musk replied to the antisemitic consumer, sparking widespread anger over his settlement with the put up. The White Home condemned Musk in an announcement, calling his put up an “abhorrent promotion of Antisemitic and racist hate … which runs in opposition to our core values as People.”
Musk’s put up has resulted in a number of main companies pulling their advertisements from X, the service previously often known as Twitter which the tech billionaire purchased in 2022. The businesses additionally paused promoting after Media Issues for America reported that X has been inserting a few of their advertisements subsequent to pro-Nazi content material. MMFA stated that Musk has since threatened to sue the group.
When requested in regards to the corporations’ choices, DeSantis claimed he was unaware of Musk’s antisemitic remark.
“I didn’t see the remark. And so I do know that Elon has had a goal on his again ever since he bought Twitter, as a result of I believe he’s taking it in a course that lots of people who’re used to controlling the narrative don’t like,” The Republican candidate informed Jake Tapper on Sunday throughout CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“So I used to be an enormous supporter of him buying Twitter. I believe that they’re clearly nonetheless working some stuff out, however I didn’t see these feedback.”
Tapper then tried to learn Musk’s remark to DeSantis, who then claimed he has “no thought what the context is.”
“I do know Elon Musk. I’ve by no means seen him do something. I believe he’s a man that believes in America. I’ve by no means seen him take pleasure in any of that,” the governor stated. “So it’s shocking, if that’s true, however I’ve not seen it. So I don’t need to sit there and cross judgment on the fly.”
Regardless of DeSantis claiming Musk has by no means engaged in fringe conspiracy theories, the billionaire has a historical past of utilizing X to endorse and amplify conspiracies, together with antisemitic ones. With a following as large as his, Musk’s common amplifying of extremist accounts and conspiracies offers them a good greater stage to unfold their ideologies.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) informed Tapper on Sunday that Musk’s feedback had been “outrageous and harmful,” and expressed skepticism that DeSantis is unaware of the put up.
“Nicely, the man’s operating for president, and Elon Musk did that on Wednesday. It’s Sunday, so that is 4 days later. And he has not had the prospect to learn what Elon Musk wrote,” Raskin stated of the Republican. “That could be very arduous for me to imagine.”
“In any occasion, you confirmed it to him, and he nonetheless refused to sentence it,” he continued. “So, if you happen to’re critical about condemning and confronting antisemitism and racism and these bigotries, that are the gateway to destruction of liberal democracy, you’ve got to be express and open and full-throated about it, and you have to denounce antisemitism and racism throughout the board.”
Musk’s remark comes amid an increase in antisemitism and Islamophobia within the U.S., as Israel continues its destruction of Gaza following Hamas’ assault on Oct. 7. DeSantis has broadly denounced antisemitism, although he has sidestepped condemning particular individuals in his occasion.
Final month, DeSantis ordered state universities to close down chapters of College students for Justice in Palestine, a nationwide Palestinian advocacy group run by college students. The governor’s administration claimed with out proof that the group is antisemitic and helps terrorists, which SJP has denied. On Thursday, the ACLU filed a federal lawsuit in opposition to DeSantis’ administration over the ban, accusing him of violating college students’ free speech rights.