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Gillum on DeSantis in Fiery Florida Debate: ‘The Racists Believe He’s a Racist’

The Democratic candidate also said that “neo-nazis” were supporting his opponent's candidacy.

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In a fiery exchange in their debate Wednesday evening, Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum said of his opponent, Republican candidate Ron DeSantis, that "racists believe he is a racist.” When asked about his support of conservative writer David Horowitz, DeSantis asked, “How the hell am I supposed to know every single statement somebody makes,” adding “I am not going to bow down to the altar of political correctness. I’m not gonna let the media smear me like they like to do with so many other people. In response, Gillum started listing the people who he said have supported DeSantis. “He’s got Neo-Nazis helping him out in this state, he’s spoken at racist conferences, and he accepted a contribution and would not return it from someone who referred to the former president of the United States as a Muslim n-i-g-g-e-r,” Gillum said. “I’m not calling Mr. DeSantis a racist. I’m simply saying the racists believe he’s a racist.” DeSantis has been under fire recently for telling voters not to “monkey” up the election by voting for Gillum. Gillum has also been the target of racist ads and comments throughout the election.