Ron DeSantis is confronted with questions about the racist racism of Supporter



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Ron DeSantis, Florida's Republican presidential nominee and President Trump's sidekick, faces growing questions about a racist insult from one of his supporters.

Politico reported on Thursday that a Republican activist who donated more than $ 20,000 to Mr. DeSantis over the years recently used Twitter as a vulgar and racist insult to former President Barack Obama.

The donor, Steven M. Alembik, also delivered a speech to Mr. DeSantis at an event for Israel at Trump's Mar-a-Lago Resort in February. Mr. Alembik told Politico that he had written the tweet of anger and then deleted it.

During an appearance at Florida International University in Miami on Thursday, Mr. DeSantis disavowed the tweet.

He asked about the tweet "a vile attempt to belittle" Mr. Alembik and the DeSantis campaign and asserted that if any one of color had said the same thing about Mr. Obama, it would not be considered racist.

Two recent polls show that 40-year-old DeSantis resigned from Congress this month to focus on his campaign, in the wake of Democratic candidate, mayor Andrew Gillum of Tallahassee, who would be Florida's first black governor.

The day after his victory at the Republican primary on August 28, DeSantis was accused of using a racist whistle during an interview with Fox News. Mr DeSantis described Mr Gillum as a far-left socialist who wants to raise taxes and bankrupt the state.

"The last thing we need to do is stick to that by trying to adopt a socialist agenda," he said.

Mr. Gillum, 39, does not identify himself as a socialist, and he and other Florida Democrats have strongly criticized the choice of Mr. DeSantis' words.

"In Donald Trump's handbook, they are no longer blowing whistles," Gillum said at the time. "They are now using complete bull horns."

Later in the week, racist phone calls targeting Mr. Gillum were made to residents of a group of white supremacists based in Idaho.

In the audio of a phone call obtained by The New York Times, one can hear a man pretending to be Mr. Gillum with the exaggerated emphasis of a minstrel artist. "Well hello," he begins, "I'm Andrew Gillum." He then talks about mud huts and unfair police practices, and asks the listener's vote amid the sounds of drums and monkeys.

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