ANKENY, Iowa — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is facing criticism from the majority of the Black Republicans serving in Congress for new public school standards that teach that some Black people benefited from slavery because it taught them useful skills.
Reps. John James of Michigan and Wesley Hunt of Texas became the latest to speak out on Friday. James tweeted his disapproval, saying that “nothing” about slavery was a “net benefit” to his ancestors.
James and Hunt are two of the five Black Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate, and they are both backing one of DeSantis’ rivals, former President Donald Trump, in the 2024 presidential race.
“As the direct descendent of a slave, I have a hard time understanding Governor DeSantis’ position that transferrable skills learned in bondage are somehow a net benefit,” tweeted Hunt.
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only Black Republican in the Senate, also rebuked DeSantis on Thursday.
“As a country founded upon freedom, the greatest deprivation of freedom was slavery. There is no silver lining … in slavery,” Scott — like DeSantis, a GOP presidential candidate — said here in response to a reporter’s question after a forum with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds.
“What slavery was really about was separating families, about mutilating humans and even raping their wives. It was just devastating,” Scott said. “So I would hope that every person in our country — and certainly running for president — would appreciate that. People have bad days. Sometimes they regret what they say. And we should ask them again to clarify their positions.”
And Rep. Byron Donalds, a Republican from Florida who has also endorsed Trump, earlier this week called on the state Education Department to “correct” the new standards.
Rep. Burgess Owens of Utah is the only Black House member who has not endorsed Trump — and has not weighed in on the Florida Black history standards. NBC News has reached out to him for comment.
The Florida State Board of Education’s new standards include language asserting that “slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit,” according to a 216-page document posted by the state.
The language has sparked widespread backlash, some of it from Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, who criticized the standards last week in a visit to Florida. Harris said the changes aim to “replace history with lies.”
Speaking with reporters in Albia, Iowa, on Friday, DeSantis responded to Scott’s comments by criticizing “D.C. Republicans” for promoting a similar argument as Harris.
“I think part of the reason our country has struggled is because D.C. Republicans all too often accept false narratives, accept lies that are perpetrated by the left and accept the lie that Kamala Harris has been perpetrating, even when that has been debunked,” he said.
“That’s not the way you do it,” he added. “The way you do it, the way you lead is to fight back against the lies, is to speak the truth. And so I’m here defending my state of Florida against false accusations and against lies, and we’re going to continue to speak the truth.”
DeSantis has deflected blame to the state education board, which he appoints, while also defending the changes and trying to reframe them as a political fight between him and Harris.
“At the end of the day, you got to choose: Are you going to side with Kamala Harris and liberal media outlets, or are you going to side with the state of Florida?” DeSantis told reporters at an earlier stop in Iowa. “I think it’s very clear that these guys did a good job on those standards. It wasn’t anything politically motivated.”
Other Republicans have been critical, too. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, another GOP presidential contender, has mocked DeSantis for deflecting blame.
DeSantis staffers lashed out at Donalds on Wednesday. Christina Pushaw, the campaign’s rapid response director, wrote in reply to a Donalds tweet: “Did Kamala Harris write this tweet?”
“[T]here are only five black Republicans in Congress and you’re attacking two of them,” James wrote in his Friday tweet, adding, “You are now so far from the Party of Lincoln that your Ed. board is re-writing history and you’re personally attacking conservatives like @VoteTimScott and @ByronDonalds on the topic of slavery. You’ve gone too far. Stop.”
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