White House hits DeSantis ‘when asked about NAACP travel ban’ in Florida: Karine Jean-Pierre claims Florida lawmakers ‘attacked diversity’ and ‘restricted black history teaching’
- The NAACP National Board of Directors released the travel advisory on Saturday
- Said Florida is “openly hostile to African Americans” under DeSantis
- Karine Jean-Pierre called ‘misguided’ diversity and inclusion policies
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday tore up Governor Ron DeSantis’ “Florida Plan” when asked about an NAACP “travel advisory” for the state that calls the state “openly hostile” to African Americans.
Jean-Pierre avoided commenting on the ban, especially when asked about it at her daily press briefing. But that hasn’t stopped her from tearing up state “lawmakers” — in a series of digs that didn’t name Florida’s governor, who plans to announce his presidential campaign tomorrow morning.
“So I’m not going to get into the travel advisory specifically, but I’ll say this broadly and where we’ve been as an administration like the White House, we’ve been outspoken about the impact of wrong policies,” she said.
Florida lawmakers have attacked diversity and inclusion efforts and limited the teaching of black history, launching attacks on LGBT, immigrants, educators and women’s reproductive freedom. That’s what you’ve seen from Florida lawmakers,” she said.
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre went after “Florida lawmakers” during her press conference on Tuesday when asked about the NAACP’s “travel advisory” for the state
“So I’ll get NAACP, I’ll let LULAC talk about their specific details of their travel advisories. But she said the administration would speak out against discriminatory policies being pushed by state leaders across the country… by Republicans, extreme Republicans who are pushing these policies that are hurting Americans, that are taking[s] their freedom away,” she said.
The League of United Latin American Citizens has issued a similar advisory.
Her comments came days after the group issued an advisory on Saturday saying that “Florida is openly hostile to African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals.”
“Before traveling to Florida, understand that the state of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and challenges faced by, African Americans and other communities of color,” it adds.
DeSantis, who will have an online conversation with Twitter head Elon Musk before a scheduled event in Miami Thursday, called the idea a “joke.”
Her outbursts against the state come hours before DeSantis is due to announce his presidential campaign
NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson speaks onstage at the 51st NAACP Image Awards, presented by BET, at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on February 22, 2020 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images for BET)
DeSantis vows to continue his track record and bring his fight against the “wake” policy to the national stage.
On Monday, he signed a bill that would ban state colleges and universities from spending money on diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
The Republican governor also supported a move to block the Advanced Placement African American studies course in public schools, saying the course “lacks educational value.”
Fedrick Ingram, the head of the Florida Education Association, the teachers’ union, said he was “shocked” and “saddened” by the move.
He’s also made national headlines for battling Disney over its own diversity statements — even though the company announced last week it was pulling the plug on a planned $1 billion Orlando campus.
“Under the leadership of Governor DeSantis, the state of Florida has become hostile to black Americans and in direct conflict with the democratic ideals upon which our union is founded,” NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said in a statement when the organization announced the ban. .