DeSantis Influencers Rally Behind Unmasked Antisemite
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On Tuesday, Breitbart revealed that Pedro Gonzalez, a prominent conservative influencer and supporter of Ron DeSantis, sent a slew of nakedly antisemitic messages. Gonzalez responded on Twitter by claiming that the messages, which were sent in 2019 and 2020, were from “a different, dumb season of my life,” while accusing Donald Trump supporters of leaking them as part of a “smear” campaign.
I am blown away by the amount of support I’ve received from every corner amid this smear campaign by Trump’s camp. I cannot express in words how much it means that so many are standing with me—even those who have vehemently disagreed with me in the past.
The only reason my…— Pedro L. Gonzalez (@emeriticus) June 28, 2023
Pro-DeSantis social media influencers and members of the Claremont Institute, where the Florida governor enjoys strong support, have been quick to rally behind their antisemitic friend — despite the revelation that he repeatedly denigrated Jewish people, praised white supremacists, and pushed anitsemitic conspiracy stereotypes and conspiracy theories.
“When did Breitbart become Media Matters? This kind of content is beneath you,” wrote Ian Miles Cheong, a right-wing influencer who has praised DeSantis. Jeremy Carl of The Claremont Institute agrees. “@emeriticus is a good guy and a friend,” he wrote, tagging Gonzalez. “He has made mistakes in his past that he has owned up to. Embarrassing to see a ‘conservative’ media site printing stuff I’d expect to see from the SPLC and Media Matters.”
Carl’s tweeted was shared by anti-Trump conservative writer Ryan James Girdusky. “The @emeriticus I know is a stand up man and a great father,” Girdusky added in a message of his own. “He’s one of the few people on this dumpster fire of a website I’d call a real friend. Who he was isn’t who he is.”
Pro-DeSantis conservatives have been sharing each others’ messages of support for Gonzalez since Breitbart revealed the extent of his antisemitism. Scott Morefield of Townhall.com retweeted Girdusky’s message, as well as a similar missive from pro-DeSantis influencer David Reaboi. “The slime-job attack on Pedro from Breitbart—as well as a host of people at the very top of MAGA world, behind the scenes—is totally reprehensible,” Reaboi wrote, adding that Gonzalez “walked away” from the scene is was in a few years ago, and is an “honorable man.”
Plenty of others have been interacting directly with Gonzalez’s response — including Trump attorney-turned-DeSantis backer Jenna Ellis, who liked the message on Twitter. “That article sadly reads exactly like a liberal hit piece,” Gays Against Groomers founder and DeSantis supporter Jaimee Michell added in a reply. “Pulling the antisemite and racist card is standard leftist practice. I’m Jewish and even I recognize the issues and problems elite Jews cause, which give all Jews a bad name. They’re scared of you. Keep up the good work!”
“Pedro is a good man,” wrote DeSantis-loving journalist Jordan Schachtel.
DeSantis’ online lackeys are defending someone who wrote that “most” Jews are “problematic”; who argued that America is “fucked” unless “whites survive” but “whites themselves are too cucked to preserve their own civilizations”; and who called Black Daily Wire personality Candace Owens and Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro “The Negress and the Jew.”
Gonzalez also repeatedly praised Nick Fuentes, calling the white supremacist Holocaust denier “intelligent” and “the future” while writing that he “never thought I would agree with so much of what Fuentes has to say.” Gonzalez wrote in one message that “Fuentes does one good thing when he trolls Jews: He shows people how subversive they can be.”
Gonzalez’s antisemitism is not limited to a few messages. Breitbart’s piece is rife with examples of his bigotry. Gonzalez’s fellow DeSantis supporters are more aghast that the messages were leaked than they are with the countless illustrations of his racism, which they’ve excused as part of an isolated period of his life way back in 2020. While Gonzalez’s supporters have painted the story as political retribution for the pundit’s pivot from Trump to DeSantis, Gonzalez said what he said, he said it repeatedly, and some of the Florida governor’s most prominent online influencers have responded by lauding him.
The support has come largely from DeSantis supporters, although Gonzalez made sure to note on Twitter that he also appreciates “my friends who still support Trump but are defending me against this.” The most prominent such friend is Rep. Matt Gaetz. “I support Trump,” the Florida congressman, who once invited a prominent Holocaust denier to the State of the Union address, wrote. “I do not support the smears against Pedro.”
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