Ron DeSantis' Book Ban Comes Back to Bite Him

Florida Democrats are using Governor Ron DeSantis' book ban against him.

DeSantis has faced backlash over a law passed last year requiring teachers to remove books that do not appear on a state-approved reading list until they are reviewed by an employee with a media specialist certificate. School officials across the Sunshine State have scrambled to comply with the law, with some saying it has created confusion about which books are now allowed in the classroom.

Republicans, including DeSantis, have said this legislation prevents students from obtaining books that are not age-appropriate, but critics view the law as an attempt to stifle discussion about issues including race and the LGBTQ+ community in public schools, raising concerns that many topics may be censored by this law, which has been met with staunch opposition from Democrats.

But the law could be coming back to bite DeSantis. Florida House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, a Democrat, is now leading an effort to have 50 Florida counties review DeSantis' own book, The Courage to Be Free: Florida's Blueprint for America's Revival, Daily Beast reported.

DeSantis' embrace of "culture war" issues, particularly surrounding race, LGBTQ+ rights and the COVID-19 pandemic, helped propel him to national prominence in the Republican Party. He is now seen as former President Donald Trump's main rival to win the 2024 GOP nomination, though he has not yet announced a campaign.

While it remains unknown whether his book has actually been placed in any schools across the state, Democrats are seeking to use the publication to highlight their opposition to this "ban."

"The very trap that he set for others is the one that he set for himself," Driskell told Daily Beast.

Driskell has cited 17 potential violations of HB 1467 in DeSantis' book, including references to "gender ideology" and systemic racism, as well as descriptions of violence, all of which could be reasoning for the book to be reviewed by Florida schools.

Newsweek reached out to Driskell's office via email for comment.

DeSantis' book also includes a summary of the "1619 Project," a journalism project created by Nikole Hannah-Jones that examines the history of slavery in the United States that has been banned in Florida schools.

In a statement to Newsweek, DeSantis' press secretary Bryan Griffin hit back at the "stunt," referring to a gif that shows the governor saying, "This is a stunt. If you want to waste your time on a stunt, that's fine. But I'm not wasting my time on your stunts. Okay?"

The effort follows months of confusion over which books would be allowed in Florida schools. As the law went into effect, videos of empty bookshelves in some schools went viral on social media as some school officials sought to figure out which books would be safe.

Critics have raised concerns about many of the books that have been disallowed in Florida schools. Jacksonville Today reported in December that 73 books featuring "diverse" characters, including The Life of Rosa Parks, were banned from the school district—sparking concerns that the law was being used to erase the teaching of the Civil Rights Movement.

DeSantis has defended the law, arguing it is intended to keep pornographic materials out of schools. He has accused critics of creating a "false narrative" about the policy.

"And it's a false political narrative," he said during a press conference in March. "And that's bad enough as it is, I guess, but for me, the important thing is that's a false narrative in service of using our schools for indoctrination rather than education."

Update 04/04/23, 12:02 p.m. ET: This story was updated with a response from Governor DeSantis' office.