Ron DeSantis Snaps Back at Reporter Over Slavery Question in Tense Exchange

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis snapped at a reporter after being asked a question about slavery in a tense exchange during a campaign stop in Iowa on Thursday.

DeSantis, who is running for president, defended changes to Florida's newly passed school curriculum on how students will be taught Black history and slavery in particular.

The Florida Board of Education's new set of standards on how Black history is taught in public schools has faced criticism from both education and civil rights advocates.

The new standards require instruction for middle school students to include "how slaves developed skills, which in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit," according to a document listing the standards. Critics have argued that this statement suggests there were positives to being enslaved and have called for students to be allowed to learn the full truth of American history and the atrocities of slavery.

DeSantis' defense of the curriculum and his snap back at the reporter has gone viral with over 800,000 views since being posted to Twitter on Thursday. The reporter asked: "Were there beneficial aspects to slavery?" before DeSantis shot back at the journalist.

"That's not what the curriculum says. The curriculum is very clear, I think you have 200-plus pages of all kinds of stuff, have you read it?" DeSantis asked the reporter.

"Have you read it? But you haven't read it, I am just making that clear."

"That makes it very clear about the injustices of slavery in vivid detail so anyone [who] actually read that and listens to Kamala, knows that she is lying," DeSantis said in reference to Vice President Kamala Harris' criticism of the curriculum changes.

Newsweek has contacted Ron DeSantis and the White House via email for comment.

William Allen and Frances Presley Rice were part of the working group that developed the guidelines for the Florida Board of Education.

Rice co-founded a non-profit organization to raise awareness about the roles African Americans have played in America's history and Allen is a political scientist.

In a statement released by the Florida Board of Education last week, the pair defended the curriculum and offered context to the controversial extract on slavery.

"The intent of this particular benchmark clarification is to show that some slaves developed highly specialized trades from which they benefitted. This is factual and well documented," they said.

"Florida students deserve to learn how slaves took advantage of whatever circumstances they were in to benefit themselves and the community of African descendants."

Vice President Kamala Harris has repeatedly condemned this move by the Florida State Board.

Speaking at Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.'s 56th national convention in Indianapolis on July 20, Harris said the state of Florida was attempting to "gaslight" people on the topic of slavery in America.

"Gaslighting" is defined by Merriam-Webster as psychological manipulation over an extended period of time that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality and typically leads to confusion.

"Just yesterday, in the state of Florida, they decided middle school students will be taught that enslaved people benefitted from slavery," she said in a clip from the event that went viral.

"They insult us in an attempt to gaslight us and we will not stand for it. We who share a collective experience in knowing we must honor history in our duty in the context of legacy. There is so much at stake in this moment."