Gubernatorial Candidate Charlie Crist compared himself to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and Jesus Christ and connected Governor DeSantis to Satan in a speech on Monday.
The speech was at a volunteer kickoff for the Crist campaign and was shared first by the rapid response wing of the DeSantis campaign.
@PinellasDems, thank you for making our volunteer kick-off a big hit. We’re taking back Florida this year!
Want to do your part to kick DeSantis out of office? Sign up to volunteer with us ➡️ https://t.co/KllmP3kYQy pic.twitter.com/eKCiEWe6zj
— Charlie Crist (@CharlieCrist) March 18, 2022
The video begins with Crist comparing himself and his campaign to the warfighting efforts of Ukraine while implying that DeSantis is a stand-in for Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader.
“Look at that sign right there, you see the colors? The blue and the yellow? Does that remind you of any country that’s in the news right now? Yeah we’re fighting for freedom too.”
Subscribe to the Florida Jolt Newsletter!
Crist quickly praises Ukrainian President Zelensky for his decency and frames his race against DeSantis as fundamentally about decency. The clear implication is that DeSantis’ policies on education, abortion, and voting security are fundamentally indecent. And after stressing the importance of being “kind to everyone,” Crist accuses DeSantis of being “a divider” while touting himself as “a uniter.”
This framing of divider versus uniter rhetoric is in concert with the messaging of the Biden administration, as multiple commenters noted.
Charlie Crist channeling Joe Biden again.
— DeSantis War Room (@DeSantisWarRoom) September 12, 2022
"Decency. Kind to everyone." Where have we heard that before? pic.twitter.com/l3wjMdAU4T
— BigBucho®️🛡⚔️ (@bigbucho) September 12, 2022
Why do they say they are the uniters, then 10 seconds later trash their opposition 🤣
— 𝓚𝓸𝓷𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓪 🇺🇸🇬🇷 (@TinaN_8) September 12, 2022
The depiction of DeSantis as authoritarian and indecent is nothing new either. People from Crist himself to California Governor Gavin Newsom have made the accusation repeatedly. But Crist took his rhetoric a step further.
“You know some people call him DeSatan? Have you heard that?” Crist asked.
“DeSatan versus that,” he continued, pointing to his name in large bold letters.
The crowd quickly got to the point of shouting. “Christ!” Crist replied, “Oh, think about it. Boom!”
Rapid response director for the DeSantis campaign Christina Pushaw called Crist self-absorbed in a statement to the daily caller.
“Charlie Crist has always been self-absorbed, but comparing himself to the second coming of Jesus Christ is a new level of bizarre delusion. He’s beyond embarrassing — and it’s only September,”
Commenters on Twitter agreed with Pushaw.
Hubris, bearing false witness, misleading your neighbors, demonizing others. These are all most “Un-Christ-Like” Mr. Crist.
— Russ L (@darksky21811) September 13, 2022
Charlie Crist is no Jesus Christ. He is the abomination of desolation that Jesus warned us about:
14 But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be – Mark 13:14a
— Robert Smith (@drbobdr) September 13, 2022
Crist finished his speech on decency and unity by making a binary moral division between himself and DeSantis.
“It is crystal. He’s bad, we’re good,”
You may also like: No Bueno!: Crist Tries to Pander to Hispanics
Be sure to read: OOPS!: Crist’ Mistakenly’ Slams DeSantis for Dodging a Debate
