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 an AP African American History course.
"The View" co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin is being accused of "lying" for comments she made on the show Thursday about Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his opposition of an AP African American Studies course.
The conversation began with Whoopi Goldberg suggesting DeSantis and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, both of whom are aiming to uproot critical race theory (CRT) 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, who self-identifies as a Republican, 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."
"You're literally talking about erasing history - not bringing in the theories and the theoretical and the more college-level stuff, that's CRT. This is straight up saying we're not gonna learn about slavery, we're not going to learn about the Civil War. That's much more dangerous," Farah Griffin added.
"The View" co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin accused Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis of "erasing" Black history. (Screenshot/ABC News)
DeSantis Press Secretary Bryan Griffin blasted the hosts' comments, telling Fox News Digital they are "both dishonest and incorrect."
He pointed to Florida Department of Education's website which 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" as well as 2020 legislation DeSantis signed into law requiring the teaching of historical events including African American history.
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' filed a complaint against a Florida venue for exposing kids to sexual material in a recent drag show. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)
DeSantis' office also pointed to comments the governor made at a press conference last month when he said his state's educational standards "require teaching Black history" and that opposition to the AP course was "pushing an agenda on our kids" which included "queer theory," intersectionality and abolishing prisons.
Griffin took aim at "The View" co-host on Twitter, telling Farah Griffin to "stop lying" in response to a clip from the show.
"Florida has extensive requirements to teach black history. But @GovRonDeSantis will not allow ideologues to utilize black history as a vehicle for a political agenda in FL’s classrooms," he said while linking to Florida's African American history standards:
Alyssa Farah Griffin was pummeled by other critics on social media.
"This is incredible lying, but I think Whoopi at least believes it. Alyssa Farrah Griffin knows damn well that CRT is implemented in the schools but is too afraid to say so," columnist David Marcus reacted.
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"This is disinformation and dangerous fearmongering. @Alyssafarah, how does this ‘elevate the discourse’ like you claimed the show was going to do before the start of the season?" NewsBusters associated editor Nicholas Fondacaro wondered.
"The View" conservative host Alyssa Farah. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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"This is a lie, @Alyssafarah. You should apologize and correct the record. Otherwise, if you lie just for the hell of it...why are you any better than Team Trump?" National Review contributor Pradheep J. Shanker told the host.
"Evergreen but it’s incredible how little the conservative on the panel actually tries to understand the actions and motivations of conservatives before joining the liberals in attacking them," GOP strategist Matt Whitlock wrote.
"I honestly don't think I've seen a clip of an honest or intelligent political discussion on this show since Meghan McCain left," conservative writer A.G. Hamilton tweeted. "Anyways, just another excellent Trump hire."
ABC News did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.
Farah Griffin, a former Trump White House official, became a media darling for becoming a vocal critic of former President Trump and Republicans.
In addition to becoming the so-called "conservative" co-host of "The View" following the departure of Meghan McCain, she is also a CNN contributor.