ABC’s “The View” co-host Whoopi Goldberg appeared to imply that Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is attempting to get rid of black people.
The co-hosts charged DeSantis with attacking black people and disregarding their voting rights and history. Their comments are in response to the Florida Department of Education adopting a course on slavery and African American history.
“Listen. We’ve built the White House, we have — listen. I’m tired of explaining it. I’m tired of explaining it. You know, and just so we’re clear, we’re not going anywhere. We’ve been here, Mr. DeSantis. Many of us have been here for generations. Can you say the same? No, I don’t think he can,” Goldberg declared emotionally.
Below is a transcript of the exchange:
HOSTIN: “… black people because we built this joint for free. (Applause) That’s what this is about.” [crosstalk]
Goldberg: “Also don’t — don’t forget — don’t forget that this is —“
HOSTIN: “We’ve built the White House.”
Goldberg: “— this is what — this is — we — listen. We’ve built the White House.”
GRIFFIN: “Twice.”
HOSTIN: “Yeah, twice. We’ve built it twice.”
Goldberg: “We have John — listen, we’ve been here — I’m tired of explaining it.”
Goldberg: “I’m tired of explaining it.” (Applause)
BEHAR: “Yeah.”
Goldberg: “You know. And just so we’re clear, we’re not going anywhere. We’ve been here, Mr. DeSantis. Many of us have been here for generations. Can you say the same?”
BEHAR: “I don’t think he can.”
Goldberg: “No, I don’t think he can.” [crosstalk]
HOSTIN: “No, he can’t actually.”
GRIFFIN: “By the way, he’s — not that this is what matters — he’s undercut his best argument was electability against Trump. I’m the more electable candidate. In the past few weeks alone in addition to this fiasco, around AP black history, he’s also had to let a staffer go for sharing an outright Nazi meme. He’s put out that insane anti-LGBTQ Pride Month video that he’d never I don’t believe denounced, and every day there’s just a new report of like chaos within his campaign. He keeps — and I once — you guys know this. I once liked DeSantis. I was like, ‘Oh, he seems interesting.’ He’s revealing himself and shrinking the pool of potential voters for himself. It is a bad strategy. I think this is a lane actually. I think Tim Scott or Nikki Haley will overcome him as the number two in the race.”
BEHAR: “But he has overseen gerrymandering in Florida to weaken the black vote also.”
WATCH:
The Florida Department of Education’s course on slavery and African American history has created a national discussion.
After Vice President Kamala Harris claimed that students will be taught that slaves in the U.S. benefited from slavery, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis invited her to his state to discuss its new educational curriculum.
Florida was hailed as the “number one state in the nation for education” and DeSantis claimed in a letter sent on Monday that he was making record-breaking investments in students, teachers, and schools. DeSantis is running for president in 2024 and is seeking his party’s nomination.
A component of the new instruction on African American history — which discusses “how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit” — has been a point of contention among its critics.
“We are committed to teaching truth, not partisan narratives,” DeSantis wrote, promoting the school choice program. “We have rooted out hateful Marxist theories like ‘Critical Race Theory’ from our classrooms. We have eliminated ‘Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion’ initiatives in school administration and hiring practices. We have, instead, focused on the basics of reading, writing, arithmetic, science, civics, and history.”
DeSantis said politicians in Washington, D.C., have chosen to “malign our state and its residents.” He said that over the past several weeks, the Biden administration has repeatedly “disparaged” the state of Florida and misinformed Americans about its education system.
