Tipsheet

Charlie Crist Has His 'Basket of Deplorables' Moment

Spencer Brown
Spencer Brown  |  August 24, 2022 2:00 PM

In his first press conference since winning Tuesday's Democrat primary in the Florida governor's race, Rep. Charlie Crist — the former Republican-turned Democrat — made it clear whose votes he did not want in November's general election.

When asked about his message for Floridians who support current GOP Governor Ron DeSantis and how he'd seek to win their vote in November, Crist didn't hesitate to disavow their support for his campaign. 

"Those who support the governor should stay with him and vote for him and I don't want your vote," Crist bellowed. "If you have that hate in your heart, keep it there," he added in something of a Hillary Clintonesque "basket of deplorables" comment. 

Nothing hollers "not in it to win it" like Crist kicking off his general election campaign by smearing a majority of his state's voters as hateful while portraying himself as the good guy without hate in his own heart.

Crist proceeded to explain that he wants "the vote of the people of Florida who care about our state: good Democrats, good independents, good Republicans." That is, Crist believes the only "good" people of his state are those who agree with his Democrat agenda. "Unify with this ticket," he said of the few remaining Floridians he hadn't accused of being hateful or bad.

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Lest anyone give Crist the benefit of the doubt or chock his comments up to an off-the-cuff gaffe or the result of a lack of preparedness for such a question, Crist made similar comments earlier on Wednesday. Crist's campaign, seemingly, will be focused on attacking Ron DeSantis and smearing Florida's voters rather than offering an alternative vision for the future of the Sunshine State.

In a Wednesday morning interview on Morning Joe, Crist said that DeSantis "is on the battlefield of hate" while claiming he is "on the battlefield of love." It's more than a bit ironic that Crist, while quoting scripture and declaring his campaign is on the "battlefield of love" — whatever that means — is also saying that some 50-plus percent of Floridians have "hate in their hearts."