Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis rejected an offer this week from ABC’s “The View” to appear on the left-wing show.
Bryan Griffin, deputy press secretary for DeSantis, revealed on Monday that the governor received an invite to appear on the program.
Griffin said the show wrote that they “would be honored” to have DeSantis on for an interview. He released the email DeSantis’ team sent back to the show on Tuesday morning declining their offer.
“Are the hosts of The View really interested in hearing from Governor DeSantis about all of the important work he is doing on behalf of Floridians to protect their health and livelihoods, to stand up for parents and children, and to defend freedom?” the email said. “Which of the below statements from the hosts of The View do you recommend our team consider when deciding if the interview will be a genuine pursuit of the truth? Or worth the time?”
The email then listed several remarks from the show’s leftist co-hosts that showed a strong level of bias and hostility toward the Florida governor:
- Joy Behar, August 2021: “You’re just short of calling [Governor DeSantis] a negligent, homicidal sociopath, because that’s what he is.” She added: “What is he doing? He’s risking the lives of children, children’s parents, their grandparents, anyone they may come into contact with, so he can appeal to his white supremacist base, so he can continue in his career and get reelected.”
- Sunny Hostin, June 2022: ” Death-Santis … I think he’s a fascist and a bigot.”
- Ana Navarro, April 2022 (on Governor DeSantis’s policies): “It’s anti-black, it’s anti-gay, it’s anti-LGBTQ+ community. And for some reason, the Republican base responds to it.” And “It’s anti-American. It’s what happens in Venezuela. It’s what happens in Nicaragua.”
- Sunny Hostin, February 2022 (on Governor DeSantis’s policies): “It started with CRT. Let’s remember that – and those are anti-history laws, anti-black history laws, really,” she said. “If you start coming after black people, what comes next, right? Of course the LGBTQ+ community, and then women, and then other marginalized groups.”
“We will pass on this offer,” the email concluded. “Also please note- we don’t coordinate appearances or events of a political nature from the official office. Our role is to serve the people of Florida.”
DeSantis’ team was praised online for the way that it responded by using the words of the show’s co-hosts against them.
“This may be one of the greatest emails ever composed,” radio host Erick Erickson tweeted.
“Home run,” political commentator Dave Reaboi added.