Vice President Kamala Harris faced a wave of criticism on Friday after her speech in Jacksonville, Florida, denouncing what she said was the state’s new history curriculum that taught students that US slaves actually “profited from slavery.”
“Yesterday in the state of Florida they decided that high school students will be taught that slaves benefited from slavery. They are insulting us in an attempt to gaslight us, and we will not stand for it,” Harris said, referring to the new curriculum approved Wednesday by the Florida Department of Education that includes the history of slavery in the US.
The new curriculum In reality, he says, “The instruction includes how slaves developed skills that, in some cases, could be applied to their personal benefit,” prompting countless critics to accuse Harris of “blatantly lying” and “misleading” the American people.
“I’ve read FL’s new resume. It’s hard to convey how much Kamala Harris is lying about it,” National Review writer Charles Cooke wrote on Twitter, linking to an analysis detailing the line items within the resume.
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In his analysis, Cooke noted every mention of slavery, slaves, abolitionism, civil rights, and African Americans in the new curriculum, and observed that “there was simply no way to read this course and conclude that it ‘enlightens’ people or whitewashes slavery.”
“This is a blatant lie. It’s a stunning lie. It’s an evil lie. It’s such a lie, so deliberate and so cynically misleading, that, in a sane political culture, Harris would be obliged to apologize,” he added.
“This is of course a lie,” wrote another Twitter user, linking to a video of Harris’ speech, while others, including Fox News contributor Ben Domenech and the Republican National Committee, similarly said he was “blatantly lying” or described his comments as a “total lie.”
Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume said the left “was trying to make slavery a bigger issue now than at any time since before the civil rights movement and possibly since before the Civil War,” adding that they had to “lie about it” to do it.
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Vice President Kamala Harris criticizes Florida’s new black history curriculum during a speech in Jacksonville, Florida on July 21, 2023. (Fox News)
“In Florida, our mission is clear: education over indoctrination, which Democrats hate because of their history and association with Jim Crow, segregation and the KKK,” the Florida Republican Party tweeted.
Another user wrote: “Is she lying or just stupid? Simple question.”
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy told Fox News Digital: “Kamala Harris makes the most powerful case I’ll ever see in my lifetime against race and gender quotas in government. If only she knew.”
Meanwhile, Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, also a Republican, said: “The vice president is flat-out lying to the American people. The indoctrination of our children in schools has to stop.”
Jones then touted his state’s similar policies to “empower parents and teachers and promote a curriculum that unites us, not divides us.”
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at a news conference at the American Police Hall of Fame and Museum in Titusville. (Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Before her speech, Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ripped Harris, accusing her of being “obsessed” with Florida, and described the Biden administration as trying to indoctrinate students.
“Florida stands in their way, and we will continue to expose their agenda and their lies,” DeSantis said in a statement on social media.
Harris’ office did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
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Brandon Gillespie is an associate editor at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter at @brandon_cg.
