Christie Rips DeSantis Defending Slavery Lessons: Not 'Words of Leadership'

Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie ripped Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Sunday over his defense of his state adapting a curriculum that teaches students that slaves developed skills that could be used for their "personal benefit."

DeSantis, who is also running in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, is facing criticism over the Florida Department of Education's (DOE) new standards for the upcoming school year regarding the instruction of African American history in public schools. The new standards state that middle schoolers will be instructed about "how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit," according to a document from the DOE's website. The state board of education approved the new standards on Wednesday.

Debate over the new standards in Florida schools comes amid a broader debate about how students should learn about identities such as race, sexual orientation and gender identity. DeSantis, an opponent of "woke education," has signed into law requirements about how race can be taught in schools. Proponents of this sort of legislation say educators should be obligated to present all sides of historical and political debates when teaching these sorts of topics. Critics, however, have accused conservatives' efforts to restrict discussion of racism as an attempt to whitewash the history of slavery and racial discrimination in the United States.

The Florida governor defended the standards during a press conference last week, saying, "I didn't do it, and I wasn't involved in it."

"I think what they're doing, is I think that they're probably going to show some of the folks that eventually parlayed, you know, being a blacksmith, into doing things later in life," DeSantis added. "But the reality is all of that is rooted in whatever is factual."

Christie, the former Republican governor of New Jersey who has been increasingly critical of the GOP's direction, criticized DeSantis's defense of the curriculum during an appearance on CBS News' Face the Nation on Sunday morning.

"First of all, 'I didn't do it' and 'I'm not involved in it' are not the words of leadership," he said. "Governor DeSantis started this fire, with the bill that he signed. And now he doesn't want to take responsibility for whatever is done in the aftermath of it. And from listening and watching his comments, he's also uncomfortable."

Newsweek reached out to the DeSantis campaign for comment via email.

Meanwhile, others have also criticized DeSantis over the curriculum, including another Republican presidential candidate. Former Representative Will Hurd, a moderate who represented Texas' 23rd Congressional District from 2015 to 2021, rebuked the policy in a Friday tweet.

"Unfortunately, it has to be said – slavery wasn't a jobs program that taught beneficial skills. It was literally dehumanizing and subjugated people as property because they lacked any rights or freedoms," Hurd tweeted.

Representative Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, accused DeSantis of being "pro-slavery" over the educational policy.

"Please keep this simple: If you require schools to teach the 'personal benefits' of slavery you are pro-slavery. Ron DeSantis is pro-slavery," the Democratic lawmaker tweeted on Saturday.