Ron DeSantis refuses to condemn Musk’s anti-Semitic post on X

When CNN Jake Tapper gave Ron De Santis multiple opportunities to condemn Elon Musk’s anti-Semitic post on X (before Twitter), DeSantis repeatedly dodged the question and defended Musk’s character.

“I didn’t see the comment. “I know Elon has had a target on his back since he bought Twitter because he is taking it in a direction that a lot of people who are used to controlling the narrative don’t like,” DeSantis said. “So I was a big supporter of him buying Twitter. “I think they’re obviously still figuring out some things, but I didn’t see those comments.”

Later he added: “I know Elon Musk. I’ve never seen him do anything. I think he’s a guy who believes in America. I’ve never seen him indulge in any of that. So it’s surprising, if that’s true.”

The post was made four days ago, so at this point, DeSantis not reading it seems like an intentional choice, or he’s lying and has seen it. Musk amplified a post on This conspiracy theory, known as great replacement theory or white replacement theoryhas been cited as motivation by killers in several mass shootings, including: 2018 Pittsburgh Synagogue in Pittsburgh; he 2019 New Zealand mosque shooting; he Walmart shooting in El Paso 2019; and the 2022 Buffalo, New York, supermarket shooting.

Tapper didn’t let DeSantis avoid the issue so easily and showed DeSantis the original post and Musk’s response. “So here’s a post claiming that Jews are fueling dialectical hatred against whites and flooding the country with hordes of minorities,” Tapper said. “And Elon Musk says, ‘You told the real truth.’ He goes on to say that he is talking about the ADL and that other Jewish groups are pushing to replace the whites.”

“I know… you have been very direct when you see antisemitism on the left. Does anti-Semitism on the right also worry you? the host asked DeSantis.

“Across the board,” DeSantis said. “I think with the advent of these attacks, the amount of anti-Semitism we’ve seen has really surprised me. And I’m someone who signed important legislation in Florida to combat anti-Semitism on college campuses. And yet… you’ve seen it on both sides.”

DeSantis went on to say that anti-Semitism on the left “tends to be tied to some major institutional power, like some of our most august universities,” while also stating that anti-Semitism on the right comes from “marginal voices.”

“To be completely frank, I don’t know how marginal the voices are. I mean, Elon Musk is the richest man in the world,” Tapper responded. “And we’ve seen some major conservative media figures, Charlie Kirk, Candace Owens and others, pushing really, really hateful things, endorsing these nonsense theories of white genocide, White Replacement Theory. And I would ask that leading Republican figures like you also use your voices to oppose this.”

Tapper also noted that DeSantis launched his presidential campaign on X. Big companies, including IBM, Apple and Disney, are now removing your ads from the platform due to Musk’s anti-Semitism.

“I’m just saying that Elon Musk is a pretty powerful guy and he’s endorsing some pretty horrible anti-Semitic conspiracy theories,” the host added. “And I haven’t heard you condemn him yet.”

“Well, because I haven’t seen it. I know you tried to read it. “I have no idea what the context is,” DeSantis said, although Tapper made the context pretty clear.

Later in the show, Tapper spoke with Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, who criticized DeSantis for not condemning Musk’s comment.

“Well, the guy is running for president and Elon Musk did it on Wednesday. It’s Sunday, so this is four days later. And he hasn’t had a chance to read what Elon Musk wrote? “It’s very hard for me to believe… You showed it to him and he still refused to condemn it,” Raskin said, calling Musk’s comment “outrageous and dangerous.”

The congressman added that he will work with his colleagues to write a letter to Musk asking him “to renounce those comments and get things straight.”