Florida Democratic nominee for Governor Andrew Gillum has been the subject of explicitly racist robocalls, paid for by a white supremacist group operating out of Idaho.
Florida voters who receive the call hear a man impersonating the African-American politician.
“Well hello there. I is the negro Andrew Gillum and I’ll be askin’ you to make me governor of this here state of Florida,” the voice on the call says. “My state opponent, who done call me monkey, is doin’ a lot of hollerin’ about how ‘spensive my plans for health care be.”
Gillum’s campaign has decried the robocalls as “abhorrent” and said that they are “a continuation of the ugliest, most divisive campaign in Florida’s history.”
Sensing an opportunity to make things worse, President Trump jumped in the fray today by tweeting that Gillum is “a thief” without citing any evidence.
In Florida there is a choice between a Harvard/Yale educated man named @RonDeSantisFL who has been a great Congressman and will be a great Governor – and a Dem who is a thief and who is Mayor of poorly run Tallahassee, said to be one of the most corrupt cities in the Country!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 29, 2018
Trump did not make explicit why he considers Gillum a thief.
Tallahassee has been the subject of a federal public-corruption probe, but Gillum has repeatedly said that he did nothing wrong and that the FBI told him in June 2017 that he was not a “focus” of its investigation.
Gillum responded to Trump on Twitter, saying the president was “howling because he’s weak,” and urged voters in Florida to vote early. Gillum also questioned Trump’s “courage” because his tweet did not include Gillum’s Twitter handle.
On Twitter there is a choice between having the courage to @ the person you are trash talking, or not. @realDonaldTrump is howling because he's weak. Florida, go vote today. https://t.co/I8uOokptJA
— Andrew Gillum (@AndrewGillum) October 29, 2018
Gillum has come under scrutiny after records showed he accepted one ticket to the musical “Hamilton” from an undercover FBI agent who he believed was a local developer.
Race has played a prominent role in the Florida gubernatorial race that has grown more heated in the final stretch leading up to Election Day.
DeSantis sparked controversy just a day after he and Gillum won their respective primaries when he urged voters not to “monkey this up” by voting for Gillum, who would be the state’s first African-American governor, and his policies in the November election.
Critics suggested the remarks had racial undertones or were outright racist, but DeSantis denied that was the case.
The Florida governor’s race has emerged as one of the most closely watched races of this campaign cycle.
A RealClearPolitics average of polls in the race shows Gillum leading DeSantis by 3.2 percentage points.