Ron DeSantis Faces Backlash as He Refuses to Denounce Elon Musk’s Antisemitic Endorsement
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Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis did not criticize Elon Musk for endorsing an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that is popular among white supremacists on Sunday. At first, the Florida governor told CNN’s Jake Tapper that he hadn’t seen the statement. Musk later reacted on the platform, saying that Musk has had a “target on his back” since he owned the company. “Jewish communities (sic) have been spreading exactly the sort of dialectical hatred towards whites which they say they want individuals to stop employing against them,” according to the X post, which Tapper handed DeSantis. According to the message, “hordes of minorities” were invading Western countries, one of the more common antisemitic conspiracy theories. Musk responded, “You have said the actual truth.”
Ron DeSantis, who launched his campaign on twitter, on Elon Musk's antisemitic post: "I did not see the comment. I know Elon has had a target on his back ever since he purchased twitter." pic.twitter.com/4Jve2agyod
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 19, 2023
Some people believe in a wrong idea that suggests Jews want to bring undocumented minority groups to Western countries to reduce the number of white people. This false belief has been supported by online hate groups and was even expressed by Robert Bowers, who killed 11 people at a synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018. Jake Tapper asked Governor DeSantis if he is worried about anti-Semitism from the political right, and DeSantis said he is concerned about it from all sides. The Anti-Defamation League reported that incidents of anti-Semitism in the United States increased by 388% in the weeks following an attack by Hamas in Israel on October 7. The Council on American-Islamic Relations has observed an increase in reports in the aftermath of the incident, but it does not have figures to disclose.
TAPPER: Elon Musk is a pretty powerful guy and he's out there endorsing some pretty hideous antisemitic conspiracy theories and I still haven't heard you condemn it.
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 19, 2023
DESANTIS: Well, because I haven't see it. I have no idea what the context is. pic.twitter.com/Nnh9EXKBQr
Ron DeSantis Refuses To Criticise Elon Musk’s Support For Antisemitic Conspiracy Theory
Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has declined to denounce Elon Musk’s post backing an antisemitic conspiracy theory, claiming on Sunday that he was unaware of the article, even though it prompted big corporations to pull advertising from the billionaire’s X social media platform. “I didn’t notice the comment,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stated on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “And so, I am aware that Elon has been carrying a target on his back since the day he purchased Twitter since I think he’s heading it in a direction that quite several individuals who are accustomed to manipulating the narrative don’t like.” Musk provoked outrage with a recent tweet in response to a user who claimed Jews loathe white people and expressed a general apathy towards antisemitism. “You stated the actual truth,” Musk said on Twitter on Wednesday. IBM, Disney, and other major companies have subsequently withdrawn support from X, dealing a significant blow as the platform once known as Twitter attempts to reclaim big businesses and their ad revenues, which are its primary source of revenue. DeSantis started his presidential campaign on Musk’s platform, despite evidence indicating that it has become a sanctuary for hate speech because the billionaire took over the firm last year.
“State of the Union” aired Musk’s article, and host Jake Tapper presented it to DeSantis before asking him to reject it — but the governor refused. “I know you tried reading it. “I’m not sure what the context is,” Ron DeSantis, who was attending the show via videoconference, remarked. “Elon Musk is familiar to me, but I haven’t seen him accomplish anything. He appears to be a man who believes in America. All of those things I have never seen him do. If that’s true, it’s unexpected, but I haven’t seen it. So I don’t intend to sit there and make a snap decision.” The governor also stated that he is opposed to antisemitism “across the board,” regardless of whether it emanates from the right or left of the ideological spectrum. “It’s wrong no matter what,” stated DeSantis. The White House has condemned the post, saying last week, “It is inappropriate to retell the hideous lie beneath what was the most fatal act of antisemitism in American history at any moment, let alone one month following the greatest loss of life for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.” That was about Hamas’s lethal attack on Israel on October 7.
I hope Elon sues him too.
— Never forget 🇺🇸❤️ (@kathy25932350) November 19, 2023
That’s the worst kind of “journalism”, to just defame someone and lie about them on LIVE TV like that.
— Rob Coates 🇺🇸 (@LuckyHippie926) November 19, 2023
Journalism is not about carrying false information about someone with a sole aim of d!rtying the person's image.
— Messi's First Son 🇳🇬 (parody) (@RemedyConez) November 19, 2023
His a liar and need someone to endorse his lies. He doesn’t like Elon, so he will say anything to discredit him
— Winnie Schola (@WinnieSchola) November 19, 2023
