“WHOS’S ready to build a Florida united?” was the message sent by former Florida Governor Charlie Crist in a tweet posted on August 20. Four days later, the now Democratic Party gubernatorial candidate seems to have forgotten his “message of unity,” as he didn’t think twice to charge at supporters of Governor Ron DeSantis, accusing them of having “hate in their hearts.”
“Those who support DeSantis should stay with him and vote for him and I don’t want your vote. If you have that hate in your heart, keep it there,” Charlie Crist said on camera today, August 24, in a clip that is already making the rounds on social media.
Crist: "Those who support DeSantis should stay with him and vote for him and I don't want your vote. If you have that hate in your heart, keep it there." pic.twitter.com/S0B93bw52i
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) August 24, 2022
A message that clearly invokes division and seeks a point of conflict with the Republican base, where Florida Governor DeSantis is tremendously popular.
Interestingly, a day before attacking the Florida governor’s voters, Charlie Crist tweeted that “DeSantis fights to divide” while he fights “to unite.”
Crist, who has had a controversial political career, being part of the Republican Party for decades before becoming an independent and finally becoming an outspoken Democrat, soundly defeated Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. Now he has the very difficult mission of competing against one of the most popular politicians in the country: Ron DeSantis.
After the clip attacking Ron DeSantis’ supporters began to spread online, the Democrat and former Republican began to receive harsh criticism on social networks, with users even calling him a “grifter.”
“See these are the things that make it clear Charlie Crist is a grifter. If you were actually trying to win in a red-tinted purple state against a popular governor, u wouldn’t say stuff like that. But if you’re just trying to play to the Twitter crowd and raise money, have at it,” radio host Darvio Morrow said.
“Charlie Crist, I don’t have hate in my heart. I’m just fortunate to live in the great state of Florida where I was able to work throughout the pandemic and had no fear of losing my job due to draconian COVID lockdowns,” one Floridian voter responder, in a video posted by the fledgling DeSantis War Room Twitter account.
Message to @CharlieCrist: We support Governor DeSantis, and we have nothing but love in our hearts ❤️ pic.twitter.com/mfxvQHcVXv
— DeSantis War Room (@DeSantisWarRoom) August 24, 2022
Emmanuel Alejandro Rondón is a journalist at El American specializing in the areas of American politics and media analysis // Emmanuel Alejandro Rondón es periodista de El American especializado en las áreas de política americana y análisis de medios de comunicación.
Contacto: [email protected]