Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office said he will boycott NBC News and MSNBC shows after Andrea Mitchell said DeSantis is attempting to prevent slavery from being taught in Florida public schools while interviewing Vice President Kamala Harris last week.
“There will be no consideration of anything related to NBC Universal or its affiliates until and at least Andrea Mitchell corrects the blatant lie she made about the governor,” DeSantis’ press secretary, Bryan Griffin said in a statement.
DeSantis has been under fire from Democrats for trying to limit the teaching of topics surrounding race, gender and sexuality in Florida public schools. Last month, his administration rejected an AP African American studies course saying the course lacks “educational value.”
“Let me ask you, what does Governor Ron DeSantis not know about Black history and the Black experience when he says that slavery and the aftermath of slavery should not be taught to Florida schoolchildren?” Mitchell asked VP Harris during an interview last Friday.
Mitchell later said her questioning was “imprecise” but she did not apologize.
“[DeSantis] has opposed the teaching of an African American studies curriculum as well as the use of some authors and source materials that historians and teachers say makes it all but impossible for students to understand the broader historic and political context behind slavery and its aftermath in the years since,” she said.
