Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis did not criticize Elon Musk for endorsing an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that is popular among white supremacists on Sunday. Initially, Florida’s governor told CNN’s Jake Tapper that he had not seen the statement. Musk later responded on the platform, saying Musk had a “target on his back” since he owned the company. “Jewish (sic) communities spread the exact type of dialectical anti-white hatred that they claim they want people to stop using against them,” according to the X post, which Tapper handed to DeSantis. According to the story, “hordes of minorities” invaded Western countries, which is one of the more common anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. Musk replied: “You told the whole truth.”
Ron DeSantis, who launched his campaign on Twitter, regarding Elon Musk’s anti-Semitic post: “I didn’t see the comment. I know Elon has had a target on his back since he bought Twitter. pic.twitter.com/4Jve2agyod
—Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 19, 2023
Some people believe in a misconception that suggests that Jews want to bring illegal minority groups to Western countries to reduce the number of white people. This false belief is supported by online hate groups and has even been expressed by Robert Bowers, who killed 11 people in a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018. Jake Tapper asked Governor DeSantis if he was concerned about anti-Semitism from the right, and DeSantis said he was concerned about it on all sides. The Anti-Defamation League reported that incidents of anti-Semitism in the United States increased by 388% in the weeks following the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel. The Council on American-Islamic Relations saw an increase in reports of the event in the aftermath, but has no numbers to release.
TAPPER: Elon Musk is a pretty powerful guy who supports some terrible anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, and I still haven’t heard you condemn it.
DESANTIS: Well, because I didn’t see it. I have no idea what the context is. pic.twitter.com/Nnh9EXKBQr
—Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 19, 2023
Ron DeSantis refuses to criticize Elon Musk’s support for anti-Semitic conspiracy theory
Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis refused to condemn Elon Musk’s post supporting an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory, claiming Sunday that he was unaware of the article even though it prompted major corporations to pull advertising from the billionaire’s X social media platform. “I didn’t notice that comment,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “So I’m aware that Elon has had a target on him since the day he bought Twitter because I think it’s going in a direction that a lot of people who are used to manipulating the narrative don’t like.” Musk sparked outrage with a recent tweet in response to a user who claimed Jews hate white people and expressed general apathy towards anti-Semitism. “You confirmed the real truth,” Musk wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. IBM, Disney and other major companies subsequently withdrew support for X, dealing a major blow as the platform once known as Twitter tries to win back big companies and their advertising revenue, which is its main source of revenue. DeSantis launched his presidential campaign on Musk’s platform, despite evidence showing it has become a sanctuary for hate speech due to the billionaire’s takeover of the company last year.
“State of the Union” aired Musk’s op-ed, and host Jake Tapper introduced it to DeSantis, then asked him to reject it, but the governor refused. “I know you tried to read it. “I’m not sure what the context is,” noted Ron DeSantis, who participated in the program via video conference. “I know Elon Musk, but I haven’t seen him achieve anything. He looks like a man who believes in America. I’ve never seen him do all these things. If this is true, it’s unexpected, but I haven’t seen it. So I have no intention of sitting idly by and making rash decisions. The governor also said he opposes anti-Semitism “in its entirety,” whether it comes from the right or left of the ideological spectrum. “No matter what, this is wrong,” DeSantis said. The White House condemned the post, saying last week: “It is inappropriate to repeat the terrible lie behind the most disastrous act of anti-Semitism in American history at any time, let alone a month after the greatest loss of Jewish human life since the Holocaust.” This included the deadly Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.
I hope Elon sues him too.
— Never forget ?????????❤️ (@kathy25932350) November 19, 2023
This is the worst kind of “journalism”, to simply defame someone and lie about them on LIVE TV.
—Rob Coates ????????? (@LuckyHippie926) November 19, 2023
Journalism is not about spreading false information about someone with the sole purpose of tarnishing that person’s image.
— Messi’s first son????????? (parody) (@RemedyConez) November 19, 2023
He’s a liar and he needs someone to back up his lies. He doesn’t like Elon, so he will say anything to discredit him
— Winnie Schola (@WinnieSchola) November 19, 2023
