Trump campaign rallies behind Byron Donalds amid battle with DeSantis officials
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (FLV) – Former President Donald Trump’s campaign defended Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds after he faced criticism from Gov. Ron DeSantis officials over new African American history standards.
Trump campaign member Jason Miller released a statement after DeSantis’ press secretary, Jeremy Redfern, and Florida education commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr. called Donalds a “supposed conservative.”
Donalds was critical of an aspect of Florida’s new standards saying slaves obtained a “benefit” from being in captivity via the development of certain skills that later helped them once freed.
He said that while the new standards approved by Florida are “good, robust, & accurate,” sections that “feature the personal benefits of slavery is wrong & needs to be adjusted.”
“That obviously wasn’t the goal & I have faith that FLDOE [state Department of Education] will correct this,” Donalds said.
Miller slammed attempts to “smear” the Florida congressman, calling him a “conservative hero” who “calls it like he sees it.”
“If he thinks something is BS, he’ll tell you,” Miller said. “That’s why we like him so much.”
Donalds endorsed Trump for president in April. Miller said the Trump team is “honored to have his endorsement.”
“For the OFFICIAL office of the Governor, and [DeSantis’] presidential campaign [try] to smear Congressman Donalds like this is a disgrace,” Miller continued. “It’s indicative of why DeSantis has plummeted faster than any presidential candidate in history.”
“It’s not just 2024 that is dead for him, but 2028 as well,” he said. “DeSantis’ continued misguided attacks are only helping Joe Biden, and if that’s his goal, DeSantis should just get out of the race.”
The Florida congressman responded to DeSantis’ officials slamming him, reiterating his support for Trump in the primary.
Donalds noted he “expressed support for the vast majority of the new African American history standards” but only opposed “one sentence that seemed to dignify the skills gained by slaves as a result of their enslavement.”
“Anyone who can’t accurately interpret what I said is disingenuous and is desperately attempting to score political points,” Donalds said Wednesday night. “Just another reason why I’m proud to have endorsed President Donald J. Trump!”
The congressman previously received a 100% “Liberty Score” from Conservative Review and a 96% conservative score from Heritage Action.
AP African American Studies contains same slavery teachings as new Florida standards
Vice President Kamala Harris visited Florida last week to decry the sections on slavery in the new state standards.
“Maybe the congressman shouldn’t swing for the liberal media fences like @VP [Kamala Harris],” DeSantis’ press secretary said in reference to Donalds.
Critics have said provisions outlining that Florida instruction will include “how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit” were “inaccurate.”
The creators of the standards responded to criticisms last week, saying, “the intent of this particular benchmark clarification is to show that some slaves developed highly specialized trades from which they benefitted.”
“This is factual and well documented,” they argued.
DeSantis recently pushed back after Harris visited Florida, saying she tried “to push a fake narrative about what Florida did.”
“She wasn’t going down to the border to actually do the job there to secure it. She wasn’t working on all the cities that are decaying because of Soros-backed prosecutors,” he said.
Democrats claimed that part of the standard is “perpetuating historical inaccuracies and contributing to a lackluster version of American history.”
Rep. Jervonte Edmonds, D-West Palm Beach, said the curriculum’s attempt to frame the labor skills developed by slaves as potentially “applied for their personal benefit” is “particularly concerning.”
