MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell gave a “postscript” during her Wednesday broadcast — a correction to a false claim regarding Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). Last Friday, during an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, Mitchell said DeSantis did not want Florida educators to teach children about “slavery or the aftermath of slavery.”
Though DeSantis has rejected CRT-related curriculum that misrepresented history and incorporated “queer theory,” he has not restricted the teaching of slavery or black history in schools. Mitchell’s comments were false and roundly criticized across social media channels.
Amid calls for a correction, Mitchell provided what she called a “postscript” during Wednesday’s MSNBC broadcast. She acknowledged she was “imprecise” in her characterization of DeSantis’ position.
Many viewed her retraction as weak and insufficient.
Mitchell explained: “In my interview last Friday with Vice President Harris, I was imprecise in summarizing Governor DeSantis’ position about teaching slavery in schools.”
Mitchell continued: “Governor DeSantis is not opposed to teaching the fact of slavery in schools.” However, without providing context, Mitchell claimed that DeSantis “has opposed the teaching of an African American studies curriculum.”
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Citing unnamed sources, Mitchell also said that DeSantis has opposed “the use of some authors and source materials that historians and teachers say makes it all but impossible for students to understand the broader historic and political context behind slavery and its aftermath in the years since.”
The egregious misrepresentation of the governor’s views led DeSantis press secretary Bryan Griffin to announce that unless Mitchell “apologizes” and the left-leaning networks improve their “track record,” the governor will no longer interview with MSNBC or NBC.
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