re: DeSantis doubles down on claim that some Blacks benefited from slavery

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As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) prepares to launch a presidential bid, more of his awful history is beginning to come out. ABC News obtained hours of debate prep footage from DeSantis’s 2018 gubernatorial campaign which shows him and adviser Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) working through how to respond to criticism over a racist comment DeSantis made about his Democratic opponent, Andrew Gillum. In August 2018, DeSantis urged people not to vote for Gillum, who is Black, because “the last thing we need to do is monkey this up by trying to embrace a socialist agenda.”

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Gaetz told DeSantis that he was coming in “too hot” on defending the comment, to which DeSantis responded, “It deserves to be hot!” Gaetz said, “You can go there in moments without having it become—” before DeSantis interrupted: “Kavanaugh showed that when you say ‘frick this’...” (You’ll recall that Kavanaugh was practically spitting with anger when he addressed the allegations in front of the Senate.)

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During one of the prep sessions, the governor’s wife, Casey, attempted to provide an explanation for the governor’s “monkey it up” comment: that DeSantis had only said “monkey” because he had been reading their daughter’s favorite book, “Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed,” to their kids at night.

When Casey asked the room if that explanation would “matter,” Gaetz quickly responded, “Nobody cares.”

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Gaetz, for his part, has already endorsed Trump for 2024.

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