On July 15, Rick Scott defended Trump’s comments as “not racist” and claimed that Democrats are “the anti-Semitic party.” Florida Democrats won’t stand by quietly while we are slandered.

State Senator Lori Berman released the following statement:

“As a proud Jewish-American and strong supporter of the state of Israel I find Rick Scott’s comments to be deeply offensive, and his refusal to call Trump’s tweets racist equally as offensive. Rick Scott is trying to use the fallacy that the Democratic Party is anti-Semitic to not have to acknowledge Trump’s racist comments.”

Terrie Rizzo, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, slammed Scott stating:

“Rick Scott’s comments are a naked and ugly attempt to divert attention away from Trump’s racist remarks and score political points. Scott’s attempt to defend a president with ties to white nationalism with false claims that the other major party is anti-Semitic adds a dangerous aspect to Trump’s actions. White nationalism and racism have a dark history of scapegoating Jews, and only two years ago these groups were chanting ‘Jews shall not replace us’ in Charlottesville. His comments defending Trump’s racism embolden the very groups that promote hate and violence and ignores Democratic Jews and their contributions to the Democratic Party.”