Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said he did not “pick the fight” over the state’s new curriculum on slavery, which calls for students to be taught that enslaved people “developed skills” that some used for their benefit, which has stirred widespread controversy. 

DeSantis said in an interview with Bret Baier that aired on Fox News on Monday that Vice President Harris has lied about what the state’s standards are. Harris slammed the curriculum earlier this month during a visit to Florida in which she accused “extremists” of trying to “push propaganda” to students, while DeSantis has said the curriculum is being misrepresented. 

“We didn’t pick the fight, Bret,” DeSantis said. 

“You can’t bend the knee to the left’s lies. When the left lies and creates these phony narratives, you’ve got to push back,” he added. 

Harris is not the only prominent official who has criticized the standards, with the curriculum also yielding attacks from several Black Republicans serving in Congress. 

 
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), another presidential candidate, denounced the standards on multiple occasions, saying that no “silver lining” exists to slavery and that the institution is “antithetical to who we are.” 

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