DeSantis appointee Rufo: Newsom is ‘spreading lies’ on New College of Florida

SARASOTA, Fla. (FLV) – Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointee to the New College of Florida Board of Trustees, Christopher Rufo, said California Gov. Gavin Newsom is “spreading lies” and “falsely claiming that ‘books are banned’ at New College of Florida.”

Newsom posted a video bashing DeSantis after his April 5 visit at the New College of Florida, a public college where the governor’s appointees recently abolished the institution’s “equity” ideology for a merit-based approach.

New College is a top-ranked public liberal arts college that has around 700 students.

In a post on social media, Newsom said, “Last week, I went to New College in Florida — ground zero for what the @GOP are trying to do to education in this country. Take a moment to watch this. Books are banned. Speech is limited. Faculty are scared. Students are bullied. This is just a small dose of what’s to come.”

Rufo replied, “Gavin Newsom is spreading lies and falsely claiming that ‘books are banned’ at New College of Florida. He wants to put all Americans under the boot of DEI commissars and California’s failed policies.”

“He wants to put all Americans under the boot of DEI commissars and California’s failed policies,” said Rufo.

Newsom blasted DeSantis in the video and said he is a “bully.”

“The college has been completely torn asunder with a direct assault with the firing of its president. The DeSantis administration has been pretty honest about what they intend to do to – to use this college as a proxy, to take over other institutions of higher learning. Ron DeSantis is nothing more than a bully,” Newsom said.

“He bullies vulnerable communities, tries to humiliate people, talking down to people, talking past people, because they look different, they love different. That’s weakness masquerading as strength,” Newsom continued.

According to reports, during his visit, Newsom “highlighted everything from book bans to alleged infringements on voting rights in his speech before participating in a roundtable discussion with students.”

The appointees also recently ousted the college’s president, Dr. Patricia Okker, and selected former Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran to step in as the interim president.

The Los Angeles Times called the visit a “a shot at his political nemesis, DeSantis, and a further escalation in a battle between these two ideological rivals.”

Newsom was scheduled to speak with students who are “leading the fight against DeSantis’ effort to control the college,” according to Newsom’s spokesperson.

Herald Tribune reporter Zac Anderson tweeted the video with the caption, “The college has become the epicenter of the culture wars after FL Gov Ron DeSantis initiated a conservative transformation.”

Newsom was seen clapping along to the song, “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands.”

DeSantis’ press secretary, Bryan Griffin, reacted to the caption and said, “Insisting a public university focus on academics makes this ‘the epicenter of the culture wars.’”

Griffin posted a GIF of DeSantis with the caption, “This is a stunt. If you want to waste your time on a stunt, That’s fine. But I’m not wasting my time on your stunts.”

In February, the New College Board of Trustees voted to abolish diversity, equity, and inclusion bureaucracies at a board meeting. The board passed a motion to eliminate the Office of Outreach and Inclusive Excellence, and authorize the interim president to make necessary or appropriate personnel decisions.

DeSantis’ administration previously said they will work on making sure that universities are teaching in the “classical sense” and not “imposing ideological worldview on the students.”

“As Governor DeSantis stated in his second inaugural speech: ‘We must ensure that our institutions of higher learning are focused on academic excellence and the pursuit of truth.’ Starting today, the ship is turning around. New College of Florida, under the governor’s new appointees, will be refocused on its founding mission of providing a world-class quality education with an exceptional focus on the classics,” Griffin said in a previous statement.