Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis makes decision on offer to appear on ‘The View’
They smelled ambush.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis rejected an invitation to appear on “The View,” with his press reps blasting the show’s hosts as far too biased to give him a fair hearing.
In a statement posted to Twitter on Tuesday, deputy press secretary Bryan Griffin argued that a show that once characterized DeSantis as a “homicidal sociopath” might not be one that can hold a nuanced discussion with the governor.
“Are the hosts of the View really interested in hearing from Gov. DeSantis about all the important work he is doing on behalf of Floridians to protect their health and livelihood, to stand up for parents and children, and to defend freedom?” he asked in his reply sent to the show.
On Friday, Griffin tweeted that the program said it would be “honored” to host Desantis. But in the reply note to the show, Griffin also presented a sampling of prior denunciations of DeSantis by program hosts.
“Which of the following statements from the hosts of the View do you recommend our team consider when deciding if the interview will be a genuine pursuit of the truth?” Griffin wrote.
In June, Sunny Hostin described DeSantis as a “fascist and a bigot,” according to the statement. And in August 2021, Joy Behar cited DeSantis’ less stringent COVID-19 restrictions in calling him a “homicidal sociopath” enamored with his “white supremacist” base.
On separate occasions earlier this year, Hostin and Ana Navarro both accused him of being hostile to black people, women and the LGBTQ community.
Last week, DeSantis’ administration filed a complaint against a Miami restaurant for performing drag shows in front of children. Navarro slammed the decision, saying it goes against the governor’s idea of “parental choice.”
“Do I think a 5-year-old should be at a drag show? No, but you know what? If you are for parental choice when it comes to your kid wearing a mask to school, if you are for parental choice when it comes to your kid learning about slavery and learning the true history of this country, then why in the hell can’t you be about parental choice on whether you take your kid to a drag show or not?” Navarro said, according to Fox News.
The television tussle comes amid a deepening war between DeSantis’ press staff — including spokesperson Christina Pushaw — and several mainstream news organizations.
Asserting that some publications are reflexively hostile toward his administration, DeSantis’ team frequently spars with their reporters on social media and barred several outlets from a GOP conference last month.
Pushaw called some of the outlets “liberal media activists” on Twitter after the administration did not allow some of them to attend the Sunshine Summit, which included an appearance by DeSantis.
