WATCH: Ron DeSantis Smacks Down Media, Democrat Nazi ‘Smear’ Effort

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis turned the tables Monday on Democrats and journalists who have attempted to use small neo-Nazi demonstrations in Orlando this weekend to attack him and Republicans in general, calling it a desperate “smear.”

Footage of a confrontation between a driver and the neo-Nazis went viral over the weekend, with left-wing activists attempting to link DeSantis to the racist and antisemitic group.

DeSantis spokesperson Christina Pushaw, who often takes on left-wing critics on social media, questioned whether the Nazis were even real, given the recent evidence of Democrats and anti-Trump activists posing as white supremacists to generate outrage, as in the recent Virginia election.

Pushaw later explained her reason for deleting the tweet, though she was attacked by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

DeSantis was asked about the controversy during a press conference on Monday, and he blasted the media and the Democrats for attempting to “smear” him.

After noting that the neo-Nazis would be dealt with for allegedly violating local laws by demonstrating on a highway overpass, he cited his own record defending the Jewish community, providing funding for Jewish religious schools, supporting Israel, and generally turning his state into a haven for Jews, especially Orthodox Jews, who are moving to Florida in large numbers from Democrat-run states like New York and California.

He also noted that Democrats had elevated antisemites like Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and had “cavorted” with the likes of Nation of Islam Leader Louis Farrakhan, a noted antisemite. He said Democrats were attempting to smear him — to “elevate a half-dozen malcontents” — to distract from their own failures, both domestically in Democrat-run cities, and internationally, in the Biden administration’s foreign policy struggles.

“I will not be smeared by them … And oh by the way, Florida is probably, maybe other than Israel, the number-one destination for Orthodox Jews to move to, if you look over the last few years. Because we do it right. Because we have provided tremendous support.”

DeSantis led the U.S. House of Representatives delegation to the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, Israel, in 2018.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.