NBC News presidential historian Michael Beschloss angrily dubbed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) a “local Mussolini” that he believes is a more serious threat to Democrats than Donald Trump is, Mediaite [1] reports.
Beschloss didn’t have particularly flattering things to say about Trump either, while he was part of a panel discussion on MSNBC. The topic at that point was Trump’s ongoing various criminal probes, and Beschloss said the former president has the “survival abilities of a cockroach” but then pivoted to DeSantis — inadvertently referred to as “Rick DeSantis” — as the biggest threat among the GOP, comparing him to fascist leader Benito Mussolini.
“Look at what Rick DeSantis has done in Florida,” Beschloss said. “He was known as a sort of nondescript political leader and member of Congress. Suddenly, he really has tried to turn himself into a local Mussolini in Florida with the book banning and the brutal tactics and even this week this suggestion that bloggers have to register with the state for the honor of writing about the governor and other political leaders. We have to call this what this is. This is fascism and authoritarianism that goes beyond even what Trump has talked about.”
DeSantis has also zeroed in [2] on books he considers explicit in public schools, and that’s led to allegations that he is targeting the LGBTQ community and Black history-related materials. But the most worrying controversy right now is a measure introduced by state senator Jason Brodeur (R) that would force bloggers to file a report with the state if they are writing about DeSantis or other administration officials.
I wish this were some dumb conspiracy theory but unfortunately, this is a fact, not fiction. How frightening is that? Shades of Nazi Germany loom, so Beschloss isn’t wrong in comparing DeSantis to Mussolini.
The Florida governor hasn’t officially announced a 2024 run, but he’s considered a possible competitor to Trump. I never thought a political candidate could possibly be worse than Trump but it looks like I may have been wrong.
Here’s what Beschloss had to say in the clip below.
MSNBC’s @BeschlossDC [3]: “[@GovRonDeSantis [4]] really has tried to turn him self into sort of a local Mussolini in Fla. What w/ the book banning, the brutal tactics, & … the suggestion that bloggers have to register w/ the state … This is fascism & authoritarianism” pic.twitter.com/Wz8fem6Bf9 [5]
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) March 5, 2023 [6]