Ron DeSantis thinks that being asked to condemn neo-Nazi demonstrators is playing “their game.” Instead of doing the right thing and clearly condemning a group supporting genocide and white supremacy, he made it completely about himself, his own grievances, and pettiness.

DeSantis did call the Demonstrators “jackasses” and “malcontents,” but he never condemned their ideology.

He never pushed back against their white supremacy.

Anyone paying attention to our Florida state legislative session can deduce why.

Florida Republicans and Ron DeSantis are working hard to make Florida an intolerant place. They are pushing bills to ban the discussion of LGBTQ topics in schools. They want to prohibit discussion regarding Florida’s racist past that causes “discomfort” to whites. They want parents to be able to sue schools and libraries to remove books from curriculums if they disagree with the topics.

It’s in this sort of environment that hatred is emboldened. It would be nice for Ron DeSantis to take a break from talking about the made-up threat of critical race theory and instead clearly denounce the actual threat of Nazi demonstrators in our communities.