Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nikki Fried, who currently serves as the state’s agricultural commissioner, said on Monday that incumbent Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is trying to start a “race war” by banning Critical Race Theory.
DeSantis recently blasted the widely-condemned curriculum and the idea of teaching students to “hate their country.”
"Let me be clear, there is no room in our classrooms for things like Critical Race Theory. Teaching kids to hate their country and to hate each other is not worth one red cent of taxpayer money," the Florida Republican said previously. "We will invest in an actual, solid, true curriculum and we will be a leader in the development and implementation of a world class civics education."
Fried said that Critical Race Theory is the GOP’s new “bogeyman” ignoring the implications for students if such a curriculum is implemented.
“This is another opportunity for the Governor to create a race war and cultural war, inside of our state,” Fried said on WJCT-FM’s radio. “This is, again, a bogeyman the Governor is pushing out there to put fear into the people’s minds. “He did it intentionally, not because there’s a worry about something like this, but to create a culture war in our state. I know people in our state are smarter than this and aren’t going to fall for this political rhetoric spewed by Ron DeSantis and the Republican Party.”
The Republican Governors Association (RGA) took note of Fried’s “desperate” and “dangerous” comments about DeSantis’ opposition to Critical Race Theory.
“Nikki Fried’s accusations against the Governor aren’t just desperate, they’re dangerous,” said spokesperson Joanna Rodriguez. “Fried has shown repeatedly that she’s incapable of being truthful about pretty much anything. Her resorting to lies and malicious manipulations on her own liberal biography and views on critical race theory are just more of the same.”
Fried is currently the only Democrat elected at the state level in Florida. She faces former Governor Charlie Crist (D-FL) in the Democratic primary to face DeSantis in 2022.