DeSantis invites VP Harris to debate Florida school standards, Harris says there is no debate

Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Ron DeSantis are throwing verbal punches to lay a political foundation. The last time Florida saw President Joe Biden step foot in the state was in February.

However, in the past 11 days, we’ve seen Vice President Kamala Harris twice in Florida. While in Florida, she took shots at DeSantis and the new African American history standards.

For most of her time in office as vice president, Harris has kept a low profile and stayed out of the spotlight, but that’s changing. Suddenly, Harris is becoming a growing force for the Biden Administration.

“She is taking very high profile stances on very controversial issues that particularly the Democratic base cares about,” said Aubrey Jewett, a UCF political scientist professor.

She’s doing that in Florida and has DeSantis to thank. The vice president raced to Jacksonville in the wake of the release of the state’s new African American history standards. She reacted strongly to the section that says middle schoolers will be taught “how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”

“How is it that anyone could suggest that in the midst of these atrocities, that there was any benefit to being subjected to this level of dehumanization?” said Harris.

Harris called the new curriculum “an insult” and on Monday, DeSantis’ sent a letter in response. First, he defended the new standards and then dared the vice president to come to Florida and discuss them with him.

DeSantis even mocked Harris’ trip to Jacksonville.

“You clearly have no trouble ducking down to Florida on short notice,” said DeSantis.

Harris responded Tuesday, during her trip to Orlando saying she will not accept the DeSantis invitation.

“There is no round table, no lecture, no invitation we will accept to debate an undeniable fact: there were no redeeming qualities of slavery,” said Harris.

Harris has also spent the last month blasting DeSantis for his resolute support of Florida’s new abortion restrictions limiting the procedure to the first six weeks of pregnancy.

“Vice presidents have traditionally been the attack dogs for the administration,” said Jewett. “She has a way of firing up the Democratic base, and so yeah, I think we’re going to continue to see quite a bit of Kamala Harris as this election season unfolds.”

That’s maybe because the Democrats believe they can make Florida blue again.