A top Florida Democrat made a “sick” comparison between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, the governor’s spokeswoman said Friday.
Christina Pushaw, the press secretary to DeSantis, shot back on Twitter after Nikki Fried, the Florida commissioner of agriculture and a Democratic candidate for governor, said he is “in a lot of ways” like Hitler.
“If we had an honest media instead of DNC stenographers, reporters would be criticizing Nikki Fried‘s dishonest and offensive claim that Gov. DeSantis is the modern Hitler. Such a comparison trivializes Hitler’s crimes against humanity. This is not funny, it’s sick,” Pushaw tweeted.
If we had an honest media instead of DNC stenographers, reporters would be criticizing @NikkiFried ‘s dishonest and offensive claim that @GovRonDeSantis is the modern Hitler. Such a comparison trivializes Hitler’s crimes against humanity. This is not funny, it’s sick.
— Christina Pushaw ? (@ChristinaPushaw) January 15, 2022
Fried was expanding on her previous claim that DeSantis was an “authoritarian dictator” during a radio interview Friday. “I have studied Hitler and how he got to power. Wanting his own militia. Having his own army,” she went on to say, which, according to WPTV, was a reference to the governor wanting to revive the Florida State Guard.
Fried also said, “Of course, not,” answering her own question of whether “we’re going to get to the extent of Hitler’s power.”
Hoo Boy… It’s one thing to *read* that Nikki Fried compared Ron DeSantis to Hitler; completely another to blow by several offramps en route to that comparison. Will media cover? pic.twitter.com/bMYDowcZGD
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) January 15, 2022
DeSantis pitched the idea for the Florida State Guard last year, saying that bringing back the World War II-era civilian military force, which would support the National Guard, would be “not encumbered by the federal government” and give him “the flexibility and the ability needed to respond to events in our state in the most effective way possible.” He proposed a military budget that would dedicate “$3.5 million to establish the Florida State Guard” to “enable civilians to be trained in the best emergency response techniques.”
By establishing the Florida State Guard, Florida would become the 23rd state with a state guard recognized by the federal government, the governor’s office said.
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DeSantis generally leads Fried in head-to-head matchup polling by 10 percentage points, according to a RealClearPolitics average. Florida’s primary elections are scheduled for August, and the general election for governor is set for Nov. 8. Rep. Charlie Crist, who was governor from 2007 to 2011, is also among those running for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination and fairs better than Fried in polling projecting a matchup between him and DeSantis.
DeSantis, a former U.S. congressman, is widely considered a top Republican contender to run for the White House one day. The governor has criticized Fried in the past, including in June, when he said the commissioner “has done nothing” while in office.
