Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, a Democrat who has her sights set on the governorship, has drawn a comparison between Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and Adolf Hitler.
During an interview with The Florida Roundup, Fried claimed that the governor is “doing everything possible to take away power from local governments, taking away people’s abilities to protest, making it harder to vote, talking about … banning books.” She then added, “That’s what dictators do.”
She claimed that rather than seeking to “govern with the people,” DeSantis is seeking to “govern over the people.”
While Fried acknowledged that she does not believe the situation will reach the “extent” of the Nazi leader’s power, she said that, “the rise of his power and what he did to scapegoat certain parts,” particularly “the Jewish community … and how he utilized … going after the media … taking over the military — that’s what this governor is doing.”
Fried has previously tweeted that she is “a proud Jewish woman.”
DeSantis, who has become an enormously popular figure on the political right, is seeking reelection during Florida’s 2022 gubernatorial contest. Fried is competing in the state’s Democratic gubernatorial primary.
The governor’s press secretary Christina Pushaw decried Fried’s Hitler comparison as “sick.”
“If we had an honest media instead of DNC stenographers, reporters would be criticizing @NikkiFried ‘s dishonest and offensive claim that @GovRonDeSantis is the modern Hitler. Such a comparison trivializes Hitler’s crimes against humanity. This is not funny, it’s sick,” Pushaw tweeted.