MSNBC host Joy Reid garnered backlash after she claimed that members of the Republican Party are no longer allowed to say that slavery was terrible.
On Thursday, Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis swiped at Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., continuing to defend the state's new school history curriculum.
DeSantis' comments came after Donalds took issue with one of the lines from the new state standards, arguing "the attempt to feature the personal benefits of slavery is wrong & needs to be adjusted." He called the rest of the standards "good, robust and accurate."
During a discussion on the controversy with former Republican National Committee chairperson Michael Steele, Reid began by suggesting Donalds didn't criticize the Florida curriculum enough and was only encouraged to run for Speaker of the House because he was a minority.
"He's a Black man from Florida, Byron Donalds, and tried to mildly criticize the slaves benefited from slavery thing," Reid continued.
"And this isn't even Trump saying it. It's DeSantis's policies. He got mowed down like the lawn because you can't even say slavery was bad now in the Republican Party. That's how far it has gone," she added.
Reid's comments were swiftly criticized by some on social media.
"Two things can be true at once: Slavery was an egregious evil in our history, and also Joy Reid is a giant clown pushing lies every time she's in front of a microphone," American First Policy Institute Director of Donor Relations Travis Shirkman tweeted.
"Does her audience not have the capacity to say in moments like this, 'okay well that's even too far for me, and I'm someone who doesn't usually mind being lied to'?" author and columnist Eddie Scarry chimed in.
To provide some historical context, blogger and writer Mike LaChance reminded his Twitter audience that the Republican Party was founded to end slavery in the United States.
"Shame on @MichaelSteele for agreeing to that," National Review contributor Pradheep J. Shanker added.
Reid has repeatedly come under fire for comments she has made related to slavery and the Republican Party.
Last year, Reid claimed DeSantis was creating a "White nationalist movement" through policies focused on critical race theory and abortion. She also said the Florida governor had turned the state into a "modern-day version of Jim Crow."
She has also previously called Donalds a prop for the GOP and drew a comparison between Republican voters and Al Qaeda.
