DeSantis loses key Florida endorsement to Trump

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), his campaign running out of money, “steam,” and time, lost a key endorsement two days ago. State Rep. Randy Fine (R-Brevard Co.), the Florida legislature’s only Jewish member, switched his allegiance from DeSantis to Donald Trump. The specific provocations he cited, mainly stem from the Fourth Arab-Israeli War and reaction to it in Florida. But Fine also charges that the governor has been slow to act against antisemitism in Florida for years.

Randy Fine speaks against DeSantis

Randy Fine left this op-ed in The Washington Times Monday afternoon. In it he describes antisemitic attacks against himself and others. “In Ron DeSantis’ Florida,” he said, “that’s no big deal.” True enough, Gov. DeSantis did sign an executive order using all available assets to “rescue and evacuate” Florida residents trapped in the war zone that Israel has now become.

He signed that order on October 12 – but was strangely silent for five days after the war began.

Beyond that, Fine talked of having “made excuses” for the governor’s failure to:

• Begin construction of the Florida Holocaust Memorial for which the legislature appropriated funds five years ago,
• Address a wave of antisemitic incidents 18 months ago, including illegally hanging “Gas the Jews” banners from highway overpasses,
• Enforce laws forbidding antisemitic words or acts on State university campuses, preferring instead to let university presidents handle it (and not to follow up on that, either), or
• Address Fine’s campaign opponent making antisemitic remarks the apparent centerpiece of her message.

In contrast, says Fine, Donald Trump has a record of achievement and concrete support of Israel, including:

• Moving the United States Ambassador’s office from the Tel Aviv compound to the old south Jerusalem consulate (thus transforming the consulate into an Embassy),
• Suggesting he would not oppose Israel’s formal annexation of the Golan Heights, and
• Negotiating and signing the Abraham Accords that brought formal peace between Israel and several Arab countries.

Reaction

In reaction, Bryan Griffin, press secretary for the DeSantis campaign, disputed Fine’s claim that the governor fails to address antisemitism. Griffin cited several actions the governor has taken, as The Miami Herald details. The executive order authorizing rescues of Americans from Israel is part of that. Another part is urging the legislature to impose new sanctions against Iran, the ultimate sponsor of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Arabic Harakah al-Muqāwamah al-Islāmiyyah, abbreviated HAMAS).

Fine is having none of that. He cites himself as the author of many of the laws that, he says, the governor is failing to enforce. Fine summed up in this post on X:

According to USA Today, DeSantis suggested Fine’s editorial was sour grapes, after the governor denied Fine a university presidency. Fine expected to become president of Florida Atlantic University; the governor said no. That Fine reserves his worst criticism for State university presidents failing to act against antisemitism, is consistent with this theory.

Yesterday, an opinion editor at The Orlando Sentinel chose to attack Fine on the issue of public “drag queen” performances. Fine has tried to outlaw them, a thing the opinion editor calls unconstitutional. That this should come out at the very time Fine endorsed Trump rather than DeSantis, might be significant – or not.