Ron DeSantis,
Orange Republican tied to racially charged post on Gillum
the Republican candidate for governor, demands an Orange County GOP committee member resign over a Facebook post about his opponent, Andrew Gillum.
Ron DeSantis is demanding that an Orange County Republican committee member resign over a racially-charged Facebook post that falsely implied Andrew Gillum wants “his people” to be “paid back” for slavery.”
In a statement to Politico, the GOP candidate for governor said Kathy Gibson “should resign, and so should anyone else that subscribes to this sort of disgusting thinking.”
“This campaign is about issues and creating a better Florida for everyone,” DeSantis told Politico. “That’s what Floridians care about, and that’s what we’ll continue to focus on.”
On Tuesday, Gibson posted a meme on Facebook that compared Gillum, DeSantis’ Democratic opponent for governor, to New York congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — who, unlike Gillum, describes herself as a Democratic Socialist.
“Andrew’s got a little different take on socialism than Ocasio Cortez,” the meme states. “Andrew Gillum says when he wins governor of Florida, ‘his people’ will be getting ‘paid back’ for slavery.”
Gibson wrote above the meme, “Just what every Floridian is dreaming of. Going Backward, not forward. If anyone living in Florida at this time was a slave holder, had family that were slave holders or committed acts against African Americans please let Mayor Gillum know so he can bill you & your Family. Where I & our family lived, we were integrated in our schools & life since the 1930s.”
That post was deleted Tuesday — but not before Orlando Commissioner Regina Hill, who’s black, took a screenshot of it and reposted it, calling it “Shameful and Despicable.”
Gibson told Politico, “I don’t have any posts on my Facebook regarding Andrew Gillum and that.”
However, before she made much of her page private, she had posted multiple stories about Gillum, as well as a meme that showed a picture of Gillum above an image of “socialism” as a man holding a gun to someone’s head.
Another post was a meme featuring a play on the word racist: “Rational Adults Confronting Intolerant Socialist Trolls.”
Gov. Rick Scott and GOP state chair Blaise Ingoglia also condemned Gibson’s remarks, according to Politico.
Other posts by Gibson included: one where she said, “Democrats love Murdering Illegals and in fact love All Illegals over Americans”; another featuring a meme implying a Somali American running for office in Minnesota was part of a Muslim Brotherhood plot to implement “sharia”; and one featuring a doctored image of Barack Obama holding a phone upside down and saying he was “faking a pose for a photo opportunity with the American flag.”
After the Politico story first appeared Tuesday, Gibson wrote on Facebook, “To All Family & Friends Please be Advised that my Facebook Page was Hacked today. All Passwords & Codes have been Changed. If you saw something that didn’t sound like me, please let me know. Thank You.”
Gov. Rick Scott and GOP state chair Blaise Ingoglia also condemned Gibson’s remarks, according to Politico. On Wednesday, state Rep. Mike Miller, the GOP candidate for U.S. Congress in District 7, said in a statement, “Kathy Gibson’s insensitive comments on Facebook have no place in politics. She should resign immediately.”