Gov. Ron DeSantis’ press team on Thursday ripped the left-wing “fact-checkers” at PolitiFact for misleading the public about DeSantis’ claims in his new book.
On Wednesday, PolitiFact issued a piece that claimed the Republican governor “glosses over” his own record in the book, “The Courage to be Free,” which is out this week, and they identified seven statements where they assert DeSantis was “wrong, misleading or lacked context.”
Seven statements. In a 256-page book. President Joe Biden issues seven misleading statements before breakfast each day, but somehow he eludes the focused gaze of the “fact-checking” industry.
In the news: Florida Gov. DeSantis’ Book Hits No. 1 On Amazon The Day It’s Released
As one example of where DeSantis was “misleading, PolitiFact noted that the governor wrote people were “thankful” that in the early days of the pandemic, Florida remained open, that kids remained in school, and that he kept beaches open.
On those issues, PoliticFact thought it made its argument with three points: that DeSantis urged people with an executive order to “limit” their movements outside their homes in April 2020; that the Education Department called on schools to remain closed from spring break to the end of the school year; and that DeSantis closed beaches in two counties, in a state with more than 1,100 miles of coast, and that he left the rest to the discretion of local authorities.
While PolitiFact is nearly calling DeSantis a liar, the reality is that DeSantis moved so quickly to reopen the state that his critics began calling him “DeathSantis,” and that even then-President Donald Trump criticized him for getting back to normal too quickly. He also opened schools on time for the 2021 school year.
DeSantis spokesman Bryan Griffin answered PolitiFact to show where its “facts” were wrong or misleading, including comments that reflect what DeSantis did regarding schools and beaches.
In the news: Important Detail Missing In Coverage Of Maryland Mayor Patrick Wojahn Busted On Kiddie Porn Charges
Aside from the schools and the beaches, though, Griffin noted that PolitiFact misled people about elections and illegal immigration.
On elections, he pointed out that PolitiFact criticized DeSantis for alleging that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg in 2020 gave almost $400 million in contributions to local election officials for partisan reasons — that is, to elect Democrats.
PolitiFact claimed this was wrong because some of Zuckerberg’s money went to red states.
But as The Wall Street Journal pointed out last year, Zuckerberg in 2020 “consistently gave bigger grants and more money per capita to counties that voted for Biden.”
Griffin also scolded PolitiFact for declaring that DeSantis did not really get rid of election “dropboxes” because the Legislature simply renamed them “secure ballot intake stations.”
Griffin pointed out that “intake stations” were monitored by election officials around the clock, where dropboxes were not.
In the news: Florida CFO Patronis Looks At NewsGuard For Illegal ESG Practices
PolitiFact also took a shot at DeSantis for a 2013 immigration bill in Congress.
The governor claimed that the bill, proposed by a bipartisan group of moderates, would have implemented the biggest “amnesty” for illegal immigrants in U.S. history.
PolitiFact thought it won this round over DeSantis by claiming the bill imposed “tough measures” on illegals who sought to stay, including submitting to background checks and paying a fine.
Yet PolitiFact stepped on the proverbial garden rake by acknowledging, without admitting as much, that DeSantis was right. “The bill did not offer blanket legal residency to unauthorized immigrants,” PolitiFact noted, “but it did offer a measure of clemency to those immigrants who would not be required to return to their home countries.”
In other words, by not forcing them out of the country, they were, in essence, granted amnesty.
Ultimately, Griffin noted the major motivation for PolitiFact’s attack on DeSantis.
He posted his answers to the group’s questions on Twitter, and added that he noticed PolitiFact had not similarly “fact-checked” books written by Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I assume that is because they are (D)ifferent,” Griffin posted on Thursday.
Android Users, Click Here To Download The Free Press App And Never Miss A Story. Follow Us On Facebook Here Or Twitter Here. Signup for our free newsletter by clicking here.