Trump-backed candidate's 'monkey' comment draws fire in Florida race
TAMPA (Reuters) - Florida’s marquee governor’s race heated up on Wednesday, when the Trump-backed Republican candidate said the state should not “monkey this up” by electing his opponent, Democrat Andrew Gillum, who is African-American, in November.
U.S. Representative Ron DeSantis, a staunch supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump who won his party’s nomination on Tuesday, made the remarks on Fox News and immediately came under fire for what critics said were racist undertones.
“The last thing we need to do is to monkey this up by trying to embrace a socialist agenda with huge tax increases,” DeSantis said, after calling Gillum “an articulate” spokesman for far-left views.
Gillum, the 39-year-old mayor of state capital Tallahasee, won a surprising victory in the Democratic primary for Florida governor, and said he hopes to motivate younger progressives and minority voters who often sit out non-presidential elections.
If he wins the Nov. 6 election, he would be the first black governor in the country’s most populous swing state.
Gillum, speaking to Politico on Wednesday afternoon, said he thought DeSantis and Trump were “scraping from the bottom of the barrel,” saying that the state would be “looking for a governor that was going to bring us together, not divide us. Not misogynists. Not racists. Not bigots.”
Words like “monkey” or “ape” have been used to demean African-Americans and are considered racist in that context. However, in American colloquial speech, “monkey with” or “monkey around with” can mean handling something carelessly or incorrectly.
DeSantis spokesman Stephen Lawson said the candidate was referring to Gillum’s political positions, not his race.
FILE PHOTO: Republican Florida governor candidate Ron DeSantis speaks during a Make America Great Again Rally at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa, Florida, U.S., July 31, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
“Ron DeSantis was obviously talking about Florida not making the wrong decision to embrace” Gillum’s policies, Lawson said in a statement. “To characterize it as anything else is absurd.”
Fox News host Sandra Smith, who interviewed DeSantis, later said on air that the network does “not condone this language.”
Following Tuesday’s primary, the two parties are looking to their most fervent supporters - progressive Democrats and Republican conservatives - for victory in the Nov. 6 election. The race will be closely watched for clues about the mood of voters and messaging ahead of 2020, when Trump could be seeking re-election against a liberal Democrat.
More than 3.5 million people voted out of 13 million registered voters in the state for a turnout rate of 27 percent, the highest for a non-presidential Florida primary since 2002.
DeSantis won his primary by touting his closeness to Trump, who took to Twitter on Wednesday morning to slam Gillum as a “failed” mayor, without providing evidence.
Gillum won as an unabashed progressive who backed “Medicare for all,” impeaching Trump and standing up to the National Rifle Association.
A victory would mark a change in fortunes for Florida Democrats, who have been out of the governor’s office for 20 years, and have lost close races after nominating moderates who failed to generate enough enthusiasm, particularly among minority voters key to the Democratic base. Just 48 percent of the state’s registered Democrats are white, according to state data. Florida’s registered Republicans are 83 percent white.
“For too long the aspirations and needs of communities of color have been pushed aside as the Democratic Party runs to the center,” said Andrea Mercado, executive director of New Florida Majority and the New Florida Vision PAC, which is focused on turning out infrequent minority voters.
The group knocked on tens of thousands of doors, and sent more than 200,000 text messages in support of Gillum, she said.
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Reporting by Letitia Stein in Florida; additional reporting by David Gaffen; Writing by David Gaffen; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Jonathan Oatis
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