Rep. Ron DeSantis, now the Republican nominee for governor of Florida, in Washington in May. Zach Gibson/Getty Images 
 
 Florida’s Republican gubernatorial nominee Ron DeSantis said that voters shouldn’t “monkey this up” by voting for Andrew Gillum, his Democratic opponent, who is black. 
 
 Uh Ron DeSantis just said FL shouldn't "monkey this up" by electing Andrew Gillum pic.twitter.com/nDPp3Hx7zc — Steve Morris (@stevemorris__) August 29, 2018 
 
 “The last thing we need to do is to monkey this up by trying to embrace a socialist agenda with huge tax increases, and bankrupting the state,” De Santis said during an interview on Fox News. “That is not going to work, that is not going to be good for Florida.” 
 
 The comments came in the midst of DeSantis praising Gillum’s political skills: “He is an articulate spokesman for those far-left views, and he’s a charismatic candidate. I watch those Democrat debates … he performed better than the other people there.” 
 
 Terrie Rizzo, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, told the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper, “It’s disgusting that Ron DeSantis is launching his general election campaign with racist dog whistles.” 
 
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 A DeSantis spokesman said the “monkey this up” comments were innocuous and told NBC News reporter Ali Vitali that it “had nothing to do with race or anything like that” and that DeSantis uses the phrase “frequently” to describe something messed up. The spokesman later issued a fuller statement saying it was “absurd” to characterize the remark as racist. 
 
 New statement from DeSantis comms director @StephenLawsonFL: “Ron DeSantis was obviously talking about Florida not making the wrong decision to embrace the socialist policies that Andrew Gillum espouses. To characterize it as anything else is absurd.” #flgov pic.twitter.com/4OcWPiJB7x — Ali Vitali (@alivitali) August 29, 2018 
 
 Update, Aug. 29, 1:22 p.m.: Fox News, having apparently sensed DeSantis’ comments were problematic, contacted Slate to point out that the host interviewing DeSantis, Sandra Smith, addressed the remark on a subsequent segment: 
 
 “A little while ago, we had Ron DeSantis, the Republican nominee for governor in Florida on for an interview to discuss the Florida election. During the interview, he made what some are calling an inappropriate comment about his democratic opponent, Andrew Gillum,” Smith said. Smith then said, “We do not condone this language and wanted to make our viewers aware that he has since clarified his statement.” 
 
 She then added that Gillum will appear on Shepard Smith’s broadcast at 3 p.m. 

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 Florida gubernatorial candidate Rep. Ron DeSantis responded Wednesday on "Hannity" to criticism of his use of the phrase "monkey this up" to describe damage his Democratic opponent would do to the Sunshine State if elected. 
 
 DeSantis (R) made the comment earlier in the day on Fox News, and caused backlash because the remark was directed at Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum (D), who is black. 
 
 "It has zero to do with race," DeSantis said. "It has everything to do with whether we want Florida to go in a good direction." 
 
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 DeSantis said the Bernie Sanders- and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez-endorsed Gillum would make Florida take a "turn to left-wing socialist policies that will absolutely devastate this state." 
 
 He said socialism is "not good for any race, color or creed," and that he won't let Democrats and critics "obscure a debate" on the issues with claims of racism. 
 
 DeSantis said he is more concerned with Gillum's plan to greatly hike business taxes in the state, adding that such a move would reverse progress made under Gov. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and President Donald Trump. 
 
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 / Updated By Dartunorro Clark and Ali Vitali 
 
 ORLANDO, Fla. — Andrew Gillum, the black Democratic nominee for governor in Florida, said Wednesday that it was "clear" his GOP rival "is going to join Donald Trump in the swamp" after Ron DeSantis said in a television interview that the state should not "monkey this up" by electing Gillum. 
 
 "We're going to leave them there, and we continue to press toward a higher mark," Gillum said Wednesday on MSNBC's "Meet The Press Daily." 
 
 Gillum was responding to a comment DeSantis made in an interview Wednesday morning on Fox News when speaking about his newly minted general election rival, a progressive who won his party's nomination in an upset on Tuesday night. 
 
 "You know, he is an articulate spokesman for those far-left views and he's a charismatic candidate," DeSantis said. "The last thing we need to do is to monkey this up by trying to embrace a socialist agenda with huge tax increases and bankrupting the state. That is not going to work. That's not going to be good for Florida." 
 
 Gillum said later that his opponent, who was met with fierce backlash for his remarks, was trying to divide voters in the state. 
 
 "We're better than this in Florida. I believe the congressman can be better than this. I regret that his mentor in politics is Donald Trump, but I do believe that voters of the state of Florida are going to reject the politics of division." 
 
 Rep. Ron DeSantis, with his wife, Casey, at an election party in Orlando after winning Florida's Republican gubernatorial primary on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018. Phelan M. Ebenhack / AP 
 
 Chuck Todd, the host of "Meet the Press Daily," said DeSantis was invited to appear on the program after making the comment, but declined. 
 
 Gillum, who was endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and George Soros, is vying to become the state's first black governor. DeSantis was endorsed by President Donald Trump. 
 
 Gillum also appeared on Fox News Wednesday afternoon and excoriated DeSantis for the remark, saying the comment was "not lost on me" and was ripped out of Trump's playbook. 
 
 "In the handbook of Donald Trump, they no longer do whistle calls — they're now using full bullhorns," Gillum said. "I'm not going to get down in the gutter with DeSantis and Trump, there's enough of that going on, I'm going to try to stay high." 
 
 He added, "It's very clear that Mr. DeSantis is taking a page directly from the campaign manual of Donald Trump, but I think he's got another thing coming to him if he thinks that in today's day and age Florida voters are going to respond to that level of derision and division." 
 
 Terrie Rizzo, chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party, said, "It's disgusting that Ron DeSantis is launching his general election campaign with racist dog whistles." 
 
 Asked about DeSantis at the White House, Trump said he had not heard the remark. 
 
 Historians have noted that using "monkey" and "ape" when referring to African-Americans has racist origins, but a spokesperson for DeSantis told NBC News that his remarks had nothing to do with race. 
 
 Andrew Gillum, mayor of Tallahassee and Democratic nominee for governor, at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 27, 2016. Paul Sancya / AP, file 
 
 DeSantis communications director said: "Ron DeSantis was obviously talking about Florida not making the wrong decision to embrace the socialist policies that Andrew Gillum espouses. To characterize it as anything else is absurd. Florida's economy has been on the move for the last eight years, and the last thing we need is a far-left democrat trying to stop our success." 
 
 Asked for comment on DeSantis' remarks, Gillum spokesman Geoff Burgan said, "As we say in Tallahassee, bless his heart." 
 
 The Rev. Jesse Jackson, the civil rights leader, responded to DeSantis' remarks with a one-word tweet: 
 
 "We do not condone this language and wanted to make our viewers aware that he has since clarified his statement," Fox News host Sandra Smith said after she had interviewed DeSantis Wednesday morning. She read his clarification on the air. 
 
 Dartunorro Clark reported from New York, and Ali Vitali reported from Orlando. 

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 CLOSE One is backed by President Donald Trump, the other has Sen. Bernie Sanders' support. Nate Chute, IndyStar 
 
 Ron DeSantis. (Photo: U.S. Government - Office of Congressman Ron DeSantis) 
 
 Ron DeSantis, the Republican nominee for Florida Governor told Fox News this morning that Florida shouldn't "monkey this up" by embracing the agenda of Democratic nominee Andrew Gillum less than 12 hours after both won their respective primaries. 
 
 "The last thing we need to do is monkey this up by trying to embrace a socialist agenda with huge tax increases and bankrupting the state," DeSantis said in an interview this morning on FOX News about running against the Tallahassee mayor. 
 
 The Florida Democratic Party responded immediately. 
 
 A historic win and a fiery beginning: 
 
 Day 1 of DeSantis vs Gillum and DeSantis on Fox News uses the phrase “monkey this up” describing the race. pic.twitter.com/khKg6OA64J — Matt Deitsch (@MattxRed) August 29, 2018 
 
 "It's disgusting that Ron DeSantis is launching his general election campaign with racist dog whistles," FDP Chairwoman Terrie Rizzo said in a news release. 
 
 Gillum spokesman Geoff Burgan said the campaign was letting the FDP respond. "DeSantis' comments speak for themselves," Burgan said. 
 
 Ana Navarro, a Republican strategist and political consultant who frequently contributes to Telemundo, took to Twitter to criticize DeSantis. 
 
 "As a Floridian, it was my hope this Governor’s race would be about the pressing issues facing our state -rising tides, algae outbreak, trade, economy, jobs," Navarro said. "I had hoped it would not be one were racism was front and center. That hope lasted all of 10 hours." 
 
 Stephen Lawson, communications director for the DeSantis campaign, said in an email that “Ron DeSantis was obviously talking about Florida not making the wrong decision to embrace the socialist policies that Andrew Gillum espouses. To characterize it as anything else is absurd." 
 
 After the Desantis campaign issued its clarification, FOX News Anchor Sandra Smith of American Newsroom issued the following statement: 
 
 FOX News' Smith issued the following statement after the DeSantis campaign issued the clarification: 
 
 “A little while ago, we had Ron DeSantis, the Republican nominee for governor in Florida on for an interview to discuss the Florida election. During the interview, he made what some are calling an inappropriate comment about his democratic opponent, Andrew Gillum. 
 
 "We do not condone this language and wanted to make our viewers aware that he has since clarified his statement. Also, Mayor Gillum will be on with Shepard Smith today at 3PM.” 
 
 "IT'S ABSURD..." 
 
 Congressman #RonDeSantis responds to controversial comment, in regards to his black opponent, #AndrewGillum, in the Florida governor's race. 
 
 DeSantis said: "The last thing we need to do is to monkey this up." 
 
 *WATCH* HIS RESPONSE HERE. #Fox35pic.twitter.com/By7qopsbTh — Stephen Hauck (@FOX35Stephen) August 29, 2018 
 
 DeSantis would later tell a Fox affiliate in Orlando he was talking solely about Gillum's policies. 
 
 "I want it to be about issues. I don't want it to be about personalities... It's absurd to think I'm trying to take a jab at anyone for ethnic or racial reasons." 
 
 Contact Schweers at jschweers@tallahassee.com. Follow him on Twitter @jeffschweers. 
 
 Read or Share this story: https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2018/08/29/desantis-accused-making-racist-slur-gillum/1131912002/
– For the very early part of the morning, the headlines focused on the possibility that Florida could get its first black governor thanks to Tuesday's primary results; for the latter part of Wednesday, they focused on three words Andrew Gillum's Republican opponent had to say. In an interview with Fox News, Ron DeSantis said this (video here): "The last thing we need to do is to monkey this up by trying to embrace a socialist agenda with huge tax increases, and bankrupting the state. That is not going to work, that is not going to be good for Florida." Cries of racism ensued. Five reactions: Florida Democratic Party chair Terrie Rizzo told the Tallahassee Democrat "it's disgusting that Ron DeSantis is launching his general election campaign with racist dog whistles." NBC News political reporter Ali Vitali tweeted this: "DeSantis' spox tells me this is something the congressman says 'frequently' to express something that was messed up or not done right. Spox says it 'had nothing to do with race or anything like that' but just talking about the situation in Florida." Slate reports the Fox News host DeSantis was speaking to, Sandra Smith, had this to say in a later segment: "A little while ago, we had Ron DeSantis ... on for an interview to discuss the Florida election. During the interview, he made what some are calling an inappropriate comment about his democratic opponent, Andrew Gillum. We do not condone this language and wanted to make our viewers aware that he has since clarified his statement." Gillum spoke to MSNBC on Wednesday and said it's "clear" DeSantis "is going to join Donald Trump in the swamp. We're going to leave them there, and we continue to press toward a higher mark." Fox News Insider reports DeSantis himself addressed the controversy Wednesday night on Hannity, saying "It has zero to do with race" and everything to do with socialism. He said a vote for Gillum would make Florida take a "turn to left-wing socialist policies that will absolutely devastate this state" and are "not good for any race, color, or creed."