Ron DeSantis Denies Personal Witnessing of Elon Musk's Alleged Anti-Semitic Behavior Amid Questions About Recent Post | Vanity Fair

Written by Bess Levin

Elon Musk, the wealthiest individual on the planet and notorious for his playful online persona, has found himself the focus of a controversy following a social media interaction. Musk was criticized for a message he posted, concurring with an aggressive statement about Jewish individuals that asserted these individuals promote the same sort of divisive rhetoric towards white individuals they advocate should cease towards them. Following Musk's comment, major companies such IBM, Apple, and Disney, reportedly withdrew their advertisements from the platform, and the comment was described as a "promotion of vile antisemitic and racist sentiment" by the White House. So, where does Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida and an aspiring candidate for the 2024 presidential election, stand in this scenario? His viewpoint might astonish you, unless you're aware that individuals who share negative character traits often stick together.

Regarding Musk’s social media comments, DeSantis stated on Sunday to Jake Tapper, “I haven't seen the message,” before implying that the richest man in the world was being treated unfairly. “Elon has had a bullseye on his back since he came into ownership of Twitter, because he seems to be steering it in a direction which many individuals who usually control the narrative are uncomfortable with,” commented DeSantis. “As such, I was in full support of him buying Twitter. There clearly are logistical matters they're still resolving, but I didn’t see those comments.” Even after being presented with the controversial post, the presidential contender defended his associate, dismissing the offensive message as merely a "blog post." Later, Tapper observed, “You’ve been notably proactive in condemning antisemitism within the left,” and then questioned, “Is antisemitism within the right also a cause for concern for you?” DeSantis acknowledged that antisemitism is “unacceptable regardless,” maintaining that this form of bias originates from significant institutions on the left, like universities, while it is restricted to “marginal voices” on the right.

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Musk is certainly not characterized as a “minor voice”. When DeSantis was confronted by Tapper on the fact that the platform owner “is rather influential and has been advocating some alarming antisemitic conspiracy theories,” which the governor had failed to object to, DeSantis provisionally, and somewhat reluctantly, critiqued Musk. “I am acquainted with Elon Musk,” DeSantis stated. “I’ve never known him to do something of this nature. He’s someone who I believe has faith in America. I’ve never witnessed him partaking in such activities. It’s surprising, if it indeed is accurate, but I haven’t observed it personally. I don’t want to haphazardly draw conclusions.”

On the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, DeSantis declared his intention to run for president, during a conversation with Musk who stated last year that he would support DeSantis's political campaign.

On Sunday, Musk dismissed claims through the social media platform that he is antisemitic, deeming such stories “unfounded” and stating that “no accusation could be more false.”