Andrew Gillum Says Florida Gubernatorial Race Opponent Ron DeSantis ‘Authored A Book Justifying Slavery’
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum — and Republican candidate Ron DeSantis — are facing off in an intense battle in Florida, with just a week to go before election day. As both candidates march toward election day with the goal of becoming Florida’s next governor, Gillum did an interview with The Daily Show host Trevor Noah on Monday that his fans loved. During that interview, Gillum made a reference to a book that DeSantis wrote which the Democratic candidate says tried to justify slavery.
Andrew Gillum’s accusation as related to Ron DeSantis’ book is just the latest in a long line of criticisms against the Republican candidate in this race. As the Inquisitr previously shared, right after the primary election, DeSantis made a reference regarding how voters in Florida needed to make sure that they didn’t “monkey this up” by electing Gillum.
DeSantis, of course, insisted that his verbiage had nothing to do with race — but not everybody was convinced. Since then, additional allegations against the Republican have been made. There has been a lot of talk about racist robocalls against Gillum being made throughout the state, as well as conversations taking place regarding numerous problematic associations which DeSantis is alleged to have had in his past.
Now, during his chat with the Daily Show host, Gillum referred to DeSantis as “justifying slavery” in his book. As the Hill details, this is in relation to the Republican’s 2011 book titled Dreams From Our Founding Fathers: First Principles in the Age of Obama.
TONIGHT: Trevor sits down with Florida Democratic nominee for governor @AndrewGillum! pic.twitter.com/tFmeDSU8n9
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) October 30, 2018
Numerous conservatives quickly lashed out across social media over Gillum’s statement. However, this is not the first time that DeSantis’ book has been touted as one which defended slavery — or was otherwise offensive to people.
As the Miami New Times recently wrote, DeSantis’ book “includes justifications excusing the legalization of slavery in the U.S. Constitution,” and has numerous sections that are offensive to women, Muslims, and black people. The Republican wrote that slavery was necessary in order to have the Constitution ratified, details American Ledger, and DeSantis said that the three-fifths compromise helped the anti-slavery states.
American Ledger notes that Albany Law School professor Paul Finkelman contended otherwise in his 2013 book Slavery and the Founders: Race and Liberty in the Age of Jefferson. Finkelman wrote that those who “favored freedom” got nothing from the three-fifths compromise and that it was a “huge victory for slavery.”
In his book, DeSantis also criticized Thurgood Marshall, who was the first African-American Supreme Court justice. Marshall had criticized the writers of the Constitution for not abolishing slavery, and DeSantis said Marshall’s criticism was misplaced.
Andrew Gillum’s reference to Ron DeSantis’ 2011 book may not move the needle much in terms of election day, although it is drawing new attention to the Republican’s book. Right now, FiveThirtyEight does have Gillum polling a few points ahead of DeSantis, but both men are campaigning hard in an effort to swing the vote their way come November 6.
Will Floridians back up Gillum and cast off DeSantis — or will the Republican soon be the state’s next governor? Everybody is watching this race, and will be anxious to see how the numbers play out next Tuesday.
