DeSantis blasts blue cities over high crime, poor education results

2024 presidential candidate in the Republican party, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, recently sniped at blue cities for their lackluster record on providing quality education for minority students. DeSantis made the comments during a campaign stop in New Hampshire to defend his record as governor on school choice and curriculum reform.

The two-term governor of the Sunshine State said, “If you’re in Baltimore or Chicago, these kids have a better chance of getting shot than getting a first-class education.” DeSantis noted that Florida has a crime rate “at a 50-year low” and how black students in Florida are thriving due to school choice programs, where students are no longer trapped in failing public schools and can enroll in private schools.

The governor linked school choice to higher educational outcomes and lower gun violence, which the media and other groups disputed. NBC News claimed that DeSantis’s policies worried critics, who told the news outlet that it could lead to “resegregation” of public schools. That claim is outlandish and likely false, considering that the Left is pushing racial identity politics that encourage “resegregation” and any attempt to revert to pre-Civil Rights Act status would be struck down by the courts.

The NAACP, which issued a controversial travel advisory due to DeSantis’s history curriculum reforms, claimed that DeSantis’s claims about school choice and gun violence do not make sense. The advisory said that it came as “a direct response to Governor Ron DeSantis’ aggressive attempts to erase Black history and to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in Florida schools.” It continued, “Florida is openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals. Before traveling to Florida, please understand that the state of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and the challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color.”

NAACP official Hilary Shelton told NBC News, “He wants to talk about Baltimore, and he wants to talk about Chicago… There are issues that need to be addressed in those places, but he is by no means an expert on those places.”

There were reports from conservative media that highlighted that the NAACP’s board chairman, Mike Hill, lives in Tampa, Florida, but the liberal mainstream media omitted this information in their articles and analyses.

But DeSantis’s comments showed how blue cities like Chicago and Baltimore are undergoing a historic period of lawlessness, as left-wing district attorneys and mayors refuse to prosecute petty crimes that ultimately disturb rule of law and overall peace in the community. Also, his assertion that school choice works for minority students does align with recent trends, where minority parents are enrolling their children in private or public charter schools, parochial schools, or homeschooling children post-pandemic.

The public spat also demonstrated the political nature of the NAACP, which has been aligned with the Democratic Party for years.

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