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Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis is facing the ire of netizens after staff from his campaign team retweeted a video with neo-Nazi imagery this weekend. The original post, first shared by user @desantiscams shows a promotion-style video featuring a "sonnenrad."
According to the ADL, the sonnenrad is an ancient European symbol that was appropriated by the Nazis and later by neo-nazis and far-right extremist groups and individuals.
According to Pensacola News Journal, the clip lasting just over a minute, was retweeted in a now-deleted post by speechwriter Nate Hochman.
The video begins with a meme character dubbed Doomer looking depressed as a montage of negative headlines feature former-president Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis' rival Republican nominee.
The character becomes happy after the Florida governor appears on the screen and clippings of his various anti-LGBTQ and anti-immigration policies are seen. It concludes with a DeSantis' face on a sonnenrad flanked by the military.
Needless to say, internet users were left enraged and many criticized the Florida governor and 2024 presidential hopeful.
Netizens slam Ron DeSantis, call the video "beyond disgusting"
As news of Ron DeSantis' campaign staff retweeting the video spread, internet users were left exasperated. Many criticized DeSantis and called him "Ron DeFascisit" and "(Ron) DeNazi."
The video comes after the Ron DeSantis War Room account released a video criticizing Trump for his comments in support of the LGBTQ+ community on the last day of pride month. The clip also went on to promote the Florida governor's recent policies against the community, including the "Don't Say Gay" bill.
Additionally, he was harshly criticized for not "fully denouncing" the Nazis after they demonstrated in Orlando earlier this year. According to Newsweek 90, at the time, Ron DeSantis announced:
"What I'm going to say is these people, these Democrats who are trying to use this as some type of political issue to try to smear me as if I had something to do with it, we're not playing their game."
It is yet to be determined whether the video was made in-house or was fan-made. No other comments were released at the time of writing this article.
