DeSantis communications staff blasted NBC News chief Washington correspondent Andrea Mitchell on Twitter Friday for falsely asserting that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is attempting to prevent slavery from being taught in public schools.
Mitchell made the assertion during an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris.
"Let me ask you, what does Governor Ron DeSantis not know about Black history and the Black experience when he says that slavery and the aftermath of slavery should not be taught to Florida schoolchildren?" Mitchell asked on "MSNBC Reports."
While DeSantis has opposed the teaching of Critical Race Theory in public schools and rejected an AP course in African American studies, he has not attempted to remove slavery or Black history from Florida's curriculum. Team DeSantis and other conservatives pointed this out online.
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Bryan Griffin, the press secretary for DeSantis, tweeted, "Shameful. This question from @mitchellreports exemplifies everything wrong with corporate media. They're not accidentally terrible at their jobs--they're maliciously intent on deceiving people. @GovRonDeSantis never said this, and FL has extensive black history requirements."
Griffin followed up by tweeting a link to the Florida Department of Education's African American history requirements.
David Keltz, the former deputy communications director for the DeSantis, responded to the video of Mitchell as well. "Truly disgusting," he wrote.
Alex Christy, the Newsbusters staff writer whose tweet and video drew the attention of Griffin, accused Mitchell of spreading "fake news."
"Andrea Mitchell spreads some fake news, asking Kamala Harris, ‘Let me ask you, what does Governor Ron DeSantis not know about black history and the black experience when he says that slavery and the aftermath of slavery should not be taught to Florida schoolchildren?’" he tweeted.
Jim Treacher, a conservative Substack writer, also accused Mitchell of dishonestly trying to prop up Harris. "'Here's a complete lie. Am I not useful to you?'" he tweeted.
"It’s interesting how we live in a time of a Cancel Culture but Andrea Mitchell can knowingly lie here with no fear of repercussions. It’s almost as if lying to uphold a false narrative is her actual job. Hmm…" Dave Rubin, a popular conservative writer and host of "Rubin Report," tweeted.
DeSantis, a potential 2024 candidate for president, has drawn increased scrutiny and in some cases false reporting from the press in recent times. The governor is expected by some to announce a presidential run after the Florida legislature concludes its session in May.
