It’s hardly outrageous to see Florida’s new history standards as controversial. These are, after all the same standards that include an indefensible provision pointing the possible upsides to slavery, which is just one of the many serious flaws scholars have uncovered in the Florida State Board of Education’s 216-page document.
With this in mind, it shouldn’t have come as a shock when Rep. Bryon Donalds of Florida — one of a tiny number of Black Republicans in the U.S. House — offered mild criticisms of the state standards this week, calling for “some adjustments” and expressing confidence that state officials would “correct” the document’s shortcomings.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who appointed the board members responsible for the standards, did not take the measured disapproval well. On the contrary, the governor and his political operation seemed to go after Donalds with a vengeance, accusing the GOP lawmaker of aligning himself with Vice President Kamala Harris and referring to Donalds — a member of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus — as “a supposedly conservative congressman.”
This unfolded Wednesday of this week. A day later, Sen. Tim Scott — the only Black Republican in the U.S. Senate and a DeSantis rival for his party’s presidential nomination — offered some mild criticisms of his own. Appearing at an event in Iowa, the South Carolinian reminded everyone that when it comes to slavery “there is no silver lining.”
As NBC News reported, DeSantis didn’t respond well to this, either.
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.
The far-right governor — who, as a former member of Congress for six years, was a “D.C. Republican” in the recent past — vowed to continue to defend Florida “against false accusations and against lies.”
Former Rep. Will Hurd — another Black Republican who’s running an uphill GOP presidential campaign — shared some criticisms of his own this week. “There was no upside to slavery. Slavery was not a jobs program,” the Texan told CNN this week. Hurd added that he considered it “shocking” that this still needs to be said.
As best as I call tell, DeSantis has not slammed Hurd publicly for the comments, though he did face rebukes from some conservative commentators.
If the Florida governor thinks this is helping him, there’s reason to believe otherwise. In a report published after Team DeSantis criticized Donalds, but before the governor slammed Scott, Politico reported that the controversy is “infuriating several prominent Black conservatives.”
Several told POLITICO they fear the issue will play into Democrats’ characterization of Republicans as favoring a whitewashing of American history. Most saw it as an unforced error at the time when Black Republicans feel they’ve been making significant strides within the party.
It also seems wildly unnecessary. DeSantis had plenty of other options. He could’ve ignored the critiques. He could’ve tried to defend the standards on the merits. He could’ve simply agreed to disagree with the mild assessments. As radical as this might seem, the governor also had the option of listening to these prominent Black voices in his own party, as they tried to convey a sensible point. But DeSantis and his team instead decided to punch back way harder than was warranted. It’s a good thing for the GOP that in an increasingly diverse country, the ranks of prominent Black Republicans are growing. But those benefits are negated when some in the party lash out after these Black Republicans speak up in a way that some on the right don’t like. Update: Republican Rep. John James, who is also a Black Republican, has also issued a statement critical of DeSantis and the Florida standards.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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