Christina Pushaw fired back after New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) announced a plan to attack Florida’s recently-signed Parental Rights in Education law, saying that her state was better off without anyone who chose to leave over its passage.
Adams promoted the plan — which involved several digital billboards placed throughout the state, inviting Floridians to move to New York City in order to be allowed to “say whatever you want.” The move came in response to Florida’s law, which did not actually ban anyone from saying “gay.” Rather, it banned classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation for students in kindergarten to third grade.
BREAKING: @NYCMayor announces a new digital billboard campaign in five Florida markets denouncing the hateful #DontSayGay law and inviting Floridians to move to New York. https://t.co/kPB7J7vJoU pic.twitter.com/1Dqbxmzqjo
— NYC Mayor's Office (@NYCMayorsOffice) April 4, 2022
“This political showmanship by attempting to demonize a particular group or community is not accepted,” Adams said when he announced the plan.
Pushaw, who serves as spokeswoman for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R), quickly responded, “The Mayor of NYC is doing us a huge favor!”
The Mayor of NYC is doing us a huge favor! https://t.co/fOTuAhyHyG
— Christina Pushaw 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) April 4, 2022
“Not surprising that the same mayor who forces 2-4 year olds to cover their faces all day is also apparently a proponent of gender theory for 5-9 year olds,” Pushaw continued.
Pushaw added her thoughts to a number of tweets on the subject, saying several times that she believed the state of Florida would be better off without anyone who opposed a law that kept radical gender theory instruction out of kindergarten classrooms.
“Anyone who would move to New York because they’re upset over Florida’s commitment to parental rights or child protection is someone we are better off without,” she said.
Pushaw went on to say that she doubted anyone would be fleeing Florida to go to New York — especially after so many made the opposite move during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If anyone is so opposed to @GovRonDeSantis defending parental rights that they leave for a crime-ridden dystopia, Florida will be better off without them. Countless NYers have moved here since the pandemic. I doubt many will leave due to our lack of K-3 gender theory instruction,” she added.
If anyone is so opposed to @GovRonDeSantis defending parental rights that they leave for a crime-ridden dystopia, Florida will be better off without them. Countless NYers have moved here since the pandemic. I doubt many will leave due to our lack of K-3 gender theory instruction. pic.twitter.com/TUBGQ7O7QO
— Christina Pushaw 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) April 4, 2022
Pushaw was not the only one to respond to Mayor Adams in that fashion — and a number also suggested that the state was far better off without anyone who was willing to leave over the passage of that law. Still others pointed out the fact that people were unlikely to leave Florida for New York over the difference in cost of living and tax rates alone.
“I can see the billboard now: come to a state with higher rent, more traffic, higher gas prices, higher energy costs, higher taxes, and higher crime if you are gay! It practically sells itself,” Matt Kadish tweeted.