Florida gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist is facing pushback after he compared himself to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and seemingly referred to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as “DeSatan.”
“Look at that sign right there. You see the colors—the blue and the yellow? Does that remind you of any country that’s in the news right now?” Crist said at a recent campaign event, according to Fox News.
The group began to applaud and shout, “Ukraine.”
“Yeah, we’re fighting for freedom too. We’re fighting for freedom too. And Zelensky—President Zelensky—is amazing,” Crist said. “And the courage, and the strength, and the decency that he shows. This is an election about decency, about being decent to one another, about being kind to everyone.”
“It’s called a Florida for all. You know, we’ve got a divider on the other side, and a uniter over here,” Crist continued, referring to DeSantis and himself, respectively. “You know, some people call him ‘DeSatan.’ Have you heard that?”
In just one minute, Charlie Crist compares himself to both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Jesus Christ. pic.twitter.com/Y921vt1qAB
— DeSantis War Room (@DeSantisWarRoom) September 12, 2022
Crist, a Democrat, currently serves as a congressional representative for Florida. He was Florida’s governor from 2007 to 2011. He also previously served as the state’s Attorney General.
“Charlie Crist has been fighting for the people of Florida his whole life,” Crist’s campaign website says. “For Charlie, every Floridian is a neighbor, and working to help his neighbors and fighting for what’s right is a lifelong calling.”
This week, he was criticized for some of the comments he made at the campaign event.
“DeSatan versus that,” Crist said while pointing to a poster featuring his last name.
“Christ,” his supporters said in response to his pointing to the poster.
“Oh, think about it. Boom,” Crist said. “No, we’ve got a great race ahead. We do, and I’m excited about it. And the choice is crystal clear. There’s no question about it. It is crystal clear: he’s bad, we’re good.”
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Romain Maurice/Stringer
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
