Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office announced Wednesday it would boycott all further interviews with NBC or MSNBC until a host corrected misinformation about his education agenda and said a "non-apology" from the network failed to make amends.
MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell made headlines when she asked Vice President Kamala Harris last week, "What does Governor Ron DeSantis not know about Black history and the Black experience when he says that slavery and the aftermath of slavery should not be taught to Florida schoolchildren?" DeSantis' office cried foul over the characterization of his education reforms, and critics said it was a false framing of his efforts.
DeSantis Press Secretary Bryan Griffin shared an excerpt of a press release on Twitter declaring, "There will be no consideration of anything related to NBC Universal or its affiliates until and at least Andrea Mitchell corrects the blatant lie she made about the governor."
Mitchell offered a "postscript" to her show on Wednesday where she appeared to apologize for how she framed DeSantis’ approach to education in Florida, saying she was "imprecise" with her words.
"In my interview last Friday with Vice President Harris, I was imprecise in summarizing Governor DeSantis’ position about teaching slavery in schools," she said. "Governor DeSantis is not opposed to teaching the fact of slavery in schools, but he has opposed the teaching of an African American studies curriculum as well as 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."
Griffin told Fox News Digital that he was not impressed.
"I saw her ‘post script’ and it's a typical non-apology response that doubles down on her lie," he said.
DeSantis Deputy Press Secretary Jeremy Redfern tweeted, "Once again, @mitchellreports is ‘imprecise’ in her description because she relies on unnamed ‘historians and teachers.’ Florida statute requires the teaching of slavery and its aftermath. We just know that ‘queer studies’ has nothing to do with Jim Crow."
Redfern added in a later tweet, "Saying one was ‘imprecise,’ when what they said was a blatant lie, is not an apology. @MSNBC /@NBCNews should not be viewed as an objective media organization. Stop letting the corporate media be the gatekeepers of truth."
One Twitter user replied to the thread, suggesting a "Complete embargo on NBC after this."
Redfern replied, "Yep."
