Alyssa Farah Griffin accuses Ron DeSantis of 'erasing' Black history
'The View' co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin is facing backlash for accusing Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis of 'erasing' Black history with his opposition to the AP African American History course.
"The View" co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin offered a mea culpa after she faced backlash for making an erroneous claim about Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
On Thursday's broadcast, Farah Griffin accused DeSantis of "erasing" Black history for opposing the AP African American History course, which had a curriculum he said included a "political agenda."
After Fox News Digital ran a report Friday morning about the fiery criticism she received, Farah Griffin took to Twitter and acknowledged she "accidentally misrepresented" DeSantis, a lightning rod for criticism in mainstream media and a rumored 2024 presidential hopeful.
"The View" co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin accused Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis of "erasing" Black history. (Screenshot/ABC News)
"Sooo I got tripped up on a point re: DeSantis/ AP black history on air & accidentally misrepresented what the Governor is challenging," Farah Griffin wrote Friday. "It’s more narrow than how I framed it, & while I still personally disagree, I own that I explained it wrong."
She continued, "My mom always taught me that when you’re wrong admit it, say sorry, and get it right next time."
DeSantis press secretary Bryan Griffin (no relation) replied, "'Accidental misrepresentation' is a bizarre phenomenon in corporate media that seems to happen a lot when talking about @GovRonDeSantis. Truly inexplicable."
"Nonetheless, thank you @Alyssafarah for correcting the record and speaking up for the truth," the press secretary added.
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While Farah Griffin offered the apology on Twitter, she made no on-air mention of the error during Friday's broadcast of "The View" despite the show's multiple references to Black History Month. Notably, the reach of the "View" audience, which averaged 2.4 million viewers at the end of January (according to Nielsen Media Research), is much greater than Farah Griffin's Twitter following, which is less than 104,000 users.
DeSantis' office told Fox News Digital, "The right thing to do would be to make an on air correction" but suggested her tweeted statement correcting the record was enough.
ABC News declined to comment.
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blocked the AP African American History course for pushing a "political agenda" on students. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)
Thursday's conversation began with co-host Whoopi Goldberg suggesting DeSantis and Republican Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, both of whom are aiming to uproot critical race theory ideology from their states' education systems, were "scared" of something they learned about Black history as students themselves.
"What Ron DeSantis did with banning AP Black History — that is going way further than what many members of my party have raised concerns with," Farah Griffin said. "So there's a lot of parents who get concerned with elements of critical race theory getting into schools… I think it's an important distinction because what he's doing is so absurd. And it's going so far."
DeSantis' office blasted the hosts' comments, telling Fox News Digital they were "both dishonest and incorrect."
The Florida Department of Education's website states that studies of the history of African Americans must include "the history of African peoples before the political conflicts that led to the development of slavery," "the enslavement experience," "abolition" and "the history and contributions of Americans of the African diaspora to society." Legislation signed into law by DeSantis in 2020 requires the teaching of historical events including African American history.
At a press conference last month, DeSantis said his state's educational standards "require teaching Black history" and slammed the AP course for "pushing an agenda on our kids" which included "queer theory," intersectionality and abolishing prisons.
The press secretary for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis thanked "The View" co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin for issuing an apology over her erroneous claims about the Republican. (James Gilbert/Getty Images)
Farah Griffin worked in the Trump White House but has become one of the former president's fiercest critics. Her about-face on Trump helped her land the token conservative seat at "The View" in place of Meghan McCain, who left in 2021.
Farah Griffin frequently attacks her own party on the show and has been far less likely to clash with her left-wing co-hosts than McCain, whose tiffs with Joy Behar and Goldberg were a near-daily occurrence.
Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.
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