Ron DeSantis team battles teachers’ union boss Randi Weingarten on Twitter over ‘book banning’ allegations

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Ron DeSantis administration members and other conservatives battled teachers’ union boss Randi Weingarten on Twitter after she accused Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., of lying about his anti-woke school policies.

The head of America’s Federation of Teachers, the nation’s second-biggest teacher’s union, shared a video of DeSantis claiming that mainstream media is perpetrating a "hoax" by saying his public school policies constitute book banning.

The union leader suggested DeSantis was lying and trying to cover up the fact that book banning is exactly what he’s doing. 

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AFT president Randi Weingarten has become the enemy of conservative parents over public school policy in the last several years. (Screenshot/MSNBC/MorningJoe)

Weingarten shared the video Saturday, which was a short clip of one DeSantis’ recent speeches in which he defended his state’s Department of Education decision to pull explicit LGBTQ material from libraries that "10 year-olds can access."

In the clip, DeSantis cited Florida "standards" that grant the state DOE the power to do so and expressed his belief that "99% of parents" would agree with removing such books from children’s library shelves if they weren't being misled by the media.

He also noted that the mainstream media has characterized this as "book banning," a strategy he referred to as a "book ban hoax." The governor elsewhere mentioned how MSNBC claimed that the Florida DOE compelling a public school African Studies school class to drop its woke aspects amounted to the DeSantis administration outlawing the study of slavery.

He bashed that as false as well, saying, "Well if you actually looked at what our standards are, not only is it not prohibited, it’s required to teach that."

Despite these assertions, Weingarten commented on the video, claiming that DeSantis is clearly lying about what he’s doing. 

She tweeted, "[Question]: Did Fla teachers complain of book banning before DeSantis started his ‘anti woke’ crusade? Did we see pictures of tarps over classroom libraries? Were teachers threatened with felonies if they used the ‘wrong’ book? [Answer]: No. Now that he is being exposed. Now it’s a hoax."

Weingarten also removed the ability for users to reply directly to her post. Though prominent members of DeSantis’ staff, along with other conservative users were quick to call out Weingarten via retweet, accusing her of perpetuating the false narrative that DeSantis is embarking on a right-wing book-banning crusade. 

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis waves as he arrives for a news conference at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022, on Key Biscayne, Fla.  (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

DeSantis Transition Team Co-Chair Scott Wagner blasted Weingarten’s post, tweeting, "1. @GovRonDeSantis empowered parents to complain about porn in school books. 2. Teacher unions put tarps so they don’t have to face reality. 3. Any adult for decades is subject to felony for showing pornography to children. 4. Turning off replies is the move of a coward."

DeSantis Press Secretary Bryan Griffin slammed the union boss, tweeting, "And yet, the law that criminalizes the distribution of pornography to minors has been on the books for decades. It's as if there's a national group of activists who claim to be for education but instead amplify fake scenarios and false narratives for political gain."

DeSantis Deputy Press Secretary Jeremy Redfern shared a screenshot of drawings from one of the explicit books Weingarten accused DeSantis of banning. He captioned the inappropriate drawings, saying, "This is the type of book that Randi wants to provide to your elementary-aged child."

Journalist Jim Treacher turned Weingarten’s point around on her, replying, "Did they complain about book banning before you started falsely claiming this is book banning?

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Conservative influencer @PolitiBunny tweeted, "Parents having a say in what their children read at school is not book banning, Randi. And we both know it."

Former TV journalist Carl Gottlieb floated the idea that Weingarten’s union should be dismantled. He worte, "Want to help American children? Decertify the @AFTunion their policies have set schools back by years."

Brendon Leslie, founder of local news outlet, Florida’s Voice News, asked, "Why does the teachers union want to keep pornographic books in our schools?"

Another example of radical LGBTQ content aimed at kids: American Girl’s book "A Smart Girl’s Guide: Body Image" explains gender expression and defines cisgender and nonbinary.  (American Girl)