DeSantis Refuses To Condemn Elon Musk For Endorsing Antisemitism On Twitter
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who introduced his 2024 presidential marketing campaign on what was previously referred to as Twitter, is refusing to immediately condemn Elon Musk for his latest choice to endorse an antisemitic publish on his platform at a time when Jewish Americans are going through an increase in hate.
On Wednesday, an X person ― whose profile indicated he identifies as Jewish ― shared a video of an commercial about combating antisemitism. The person mentioned that anybody who anonymously posts “Hitler was right” ought to “say it to our faces.”
Another person replied to the publish, accusing Jewish folks of “pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them.” The person additionally prompt that mentioned supposed conduct by Jews justifies hatred in opposition to them by “hordes of minorities that support flooding their country,” a conspiracy idea linking Jewish folks to nonwhite immigration that the gunman within the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue taking pictures subscribed to.
“You have said the actual truth,” Musk replied to the antisemitic person, sparking widespread anger over his settlement with the publish. The White House condemned Musk in a press release, calling his publish an “abhorrent promotion of Antisemitic and racist hate … which runs against our core values as Americans.”
Musk’s publish has resulted in a number of main firms pulling their adverts from X, the service previously referred to as Twitter which the tech billionaire purchased in 2022. The firms additionally paused promoting after Media Matters for America reported that X has been inserting a few of their adverts subsequent to pro-Nazi content material. MMFA mentioned that Musk has since threatened to sue the group.
When requested concerning the firms’ choices, DeSantis claimed he was unaware of Musk’s antisemitic remark.
“I did not see the comment. And so I know that Elon has had a target on his back ever since he purchased Twitter, because I think he’s taking it in a direction that a lot of people who are 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 was a big supporter of him purchasing Twitter. I think that they’re obviously still working some stuff out, but I did not see those comments.”
Tapper then tried to learn Musk’s remark to DeSantis, who then claimed he has “no idea what the context is.”
“I know Elon Musk. I have never seen him do anything. I think he’s a guy that believes in America. I have never seen him indulge in any of that,” the governor mentioned. “So it’s surprising, if that’s true, but I have not seen it. So I don’t want to sit there and pass judgment on the fly.”
Despite 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 huge as his, Musk’s common amplifying of extremist accounts and conspiracies provides them a good larger stage to unfold their ideologies.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) informed Tapper on Sunday that Musk’s feedback have been “outrageous and dangerous,” and expressed skepticism that DeSantis is unaware of the publish.
“Well, the guy’s running for president, and Elon Musk did that on Wednesday. It’s Sunday, so this is four days later. And he has not had the chance to read what Elon Musk wrote,” Raskin mentioned of the Republican. “That is very hard for me to believe.”
“In any event, you showed it to him, and he still refused to condemn it,” he continued. “So, if you’re serious about condemning and confronting antisemitism and racism and these bigotries, which are the gateway to destruction of liberal democracy, you have got to be explicit and open and full-throated about it, and you have got to denounce antisemitism and racism across 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 folks in his occasion.
Last month, DeSantis ordered state universities to close down chapters of 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.
