Just days after a racially motivated shooting in Jacksonville left three people dead, the left-wing media has finally settled on how they will exploit the tragedy. This week, liberal journalists have mobilized to pin the blame for the attack on Governor Ron DeSantis, baselessly accusing him in several outlets of inspiring the attack with his “rhetoric.”
Five so-called journalists contributed to one such report in a piece published by the Associated Press on Tuesday.
“DeSantis is leading his state through the aftermath of a racist attack that left three African Americans dead. Black leaders in Florida — and across the nation — say they’re outraged by his actions and rhetoric ahead of the shooting.” ~ Associated Press
While the report fails to produce any examples of DeSantis’ rhetoric ahead of the shooting, authors Steve Peoples and Brenden Farrington argue that the Governor’s “anti-woke” campaign and support for gun rights played a significant role in inspiring the attack.
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Rather than research the subject, the outlet then chose to interview a series of DeSantis critics in the NAACP and Florida Democratic Party, filling the report with left-wing talking points.
In a rebuttal published in the New York Post, columnist Karol Marcowicz wrote about the piece,
“If there is no “rhetoric” connection to make, the left simply blames Republican support of gun rights. The media are, of course, always there to lend a hand to this propaganda.
DeSantis is a target because he has been massively successful in Florida and his policies have garnered him an increase in the black vote in the last election. Democrats in the Sunshine State are in disarray, and their desperation comes across in blaming the governor for this racist shooting.”
This is just vile hackery from the AP. DeSantis had zero to do with a random crime and Florida remains far safer for black people than much of the country governed by NAACP approved politicians. https://t.co/Ic5HxzzdXC
— Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) August 29, 2023
It's disgusting that leftist activist media like Steve Peoples & Brendan Farrington at AP & Matt Dixon at NBC, tried to tie Gov. DeSantis to a mass murder. But also gross that many watch media do that to Republicans & sit silent. My Wed column in @nypost https://t.co/pnFCPnLVx7
— Karol Markowicz (@karol) August 29, 2023
On Sunday, Governor DeSantis attended a prayer vigil for the shooting victims, where he referred to the gunman as “a major-league scumbag” and denounced the racist attack.
“The shooting, based on the manifesto that they discovered from the scumbag that did this, was racially motivated. He was targeting people based on their race,” ~ Gov. Ron DeSantis
In the minds of leftists, however, DeSantis’ words were taken as an endorsement of white supremacism rather than an obvious condemnation.
On Tuesday, MSNBC correspondent Trymaine Lee argued that DeSantis had not said enough to oppose the “nationwide sickness of white supremacy.” His thoughts echoed that of Jacksonville pastor Jeffrey Rumlin, who spoke shortly after DeSantis’ address that the shooter “was not a scumbag” before adding “he was a racist.”
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So who's the poster boy for the black man that shot 4 old white people last month? Biden? Obama? KJP? Pelosi? Schumer? Waters? Let me guess, it doesn't matter because they were white?
— Jay (@BreachNClearLLC) August 28, 2023
In a response to the Associated Press, DeSantis spokesman Bryan Griffin said,
“Ron DeSantis has condemned these racially motivated murders repeatedly in the strongest language possible. … He will not tolerate racial hatred or violence in Florida, and we reject your politicization of this horrible event.”
Over the weekend, DeSantis said he condemned the attack “in the strongest possible terms.”
“We’ve offered support for Sheriff Waters and the city of Jacksonville, and we send our condolences to the victims and their families who are the victims of a very cowardly act.”
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