Outrage as DeSantis Staffer 'Retweets' Nazi Symbol Video: 'Disgusting'

A video which features Ron DeSantis that includes a symbol often associated with neo-Nazi groups has been met with outrage after it was allegedly retweeted by his campaign team.

The short clip, reportedly made by the Ron DeSantis Fancams Twitter account, shows a meme online character known as a "doomer" looking unhappy as he sees negative headlines about Donald Trump, the frontrunner in the 2024 GOP nomination race, as well as the former president's promotion of COVID-19 vaccines and support for the LGBTQ+ community.

The "doomer" becomes happier when DeSantis appears on screen, with the clip then going through a montage of the Florida governor and his immigration and LGBTQ+ policies. The video ends with what appears to be a far-right circular symbol known as the "sonnenrad" [sunwheel/black sun] on screen, with DeSantis' face in the middle being flanked by marching military personnel.

The video from the Ron DeSantis Fancams account has since been deleted after social media users said it was reshared by a member of DeSantis' campaign team. Newsweek has not been able to verify if it had been shared, or the account from which the clip was retweeted from. DeSantis' office has been contacted for comment.

According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the sonnenrad is one of a number of ancient European symbols that the Nazis appropriated in their attempt to "invent an idealized 'Aryan/Norse' heritage." The Nazi party and Adolf Hitler's paramilitary group the Schutzstaffel [SS] both used sonnenrad imagery.

A number of social media users and DeSantis critics have condemned him after his team allegedly shared the clip featuring the far-right imagery.

Harry Sisson, a New York University student who was brought in by the Biden administration to promote the president's 2024 campaign on social media, tweeted: "A DeSantis campaign staffer just retweeted a video made by a DeSantis supporter that included a Nazi symbol in the video. I'm at a loss for words. They're no longer hiding it. They're openly embracing extremism."

Florida Democratic congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost, who has frequently accused the Florida governor of acting like a fascist leader, said: "When I first started calling Ron DeSantis a fascist, I got blowback from folks in both parties.

"Now, he's being so overt about it that people are coming around. Calling DeSantis a fascist isn't hyperbole, it's defining what he is."

Political commentator and podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen added: "Ron DeSantis campaign staff just shared a video with DeSantis and a Nazi symbol imposed over a flag of Florida with soldiers marching toward it."

While the sonnenrad is heavily linked to Nazism and white supremacist ideology, it is also used as traditional symbolism of ancient cultures, including Old Norse and Celtic, which do not have far-right connections.

"Because sonnenrad imagery is used by many cultures around the world, one should not assume that most sonnenrad-like images necessarily denote racism or white supremacy; rather, they should be analyzed carefully in the context in which they appear," the ADL states.

The criticism over the clip came after the DeSantis War Room account released a video on the last day of Pride month in June attacking Trump for comments he made in support of the LGBTQ+ community and promoted DeSantis' legislations such as the so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill which critics have accused of being homophobic.

DeSantis was previously accused of failing to fully denounce neo-Nazis who staged protests outside Walt Disney World Resort—a company the Florida governor has previously clashed with—in January 2022. Speaking at a press conference at the time, he said any criticism aimed at him over the far-right demonstration was an unjustified smear campaign.

"What I'm going to say is these people, these Democrats who are trying to use this as some type of political issue to try to smear me as if I had something to do with it, we're not playing their game," DeSantis said.