Desantis Starts Spat With Libs Of Tiktok

TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who routinely slams Democrats and the “corporate media,” on Wednesday went after a one-time ally — @LibsofTikTok — the social media account run by conservative activist Chaya Raichik.

DeSantis ripped into Raichik for “lying” about Florida law after she posted a link to a television news story about three undocumented migrants from Guatemala who are accused by Palm Beach counties authorities of forcing a woman into a car and sexually assaulting her.

In her post on X, Raichik stated “apparently FL also gives illegals drivers licenses.”

DeSantis, in response, pointed out that Florida doesn’t issue divers licenses to undocumented immigrants and that the state also now refuses to recognize licenses handed out to migrants from other states — which was part of an anti-illegal immigration law the governor pushed legislators to adopt last year.

“Truth shouldn’t be a casualty of attempts to generate clicks and engagement farm,” the governor posted.

DeSantis’ press secretary, Jeremy Redfern, also tried to defuse the dust-up over the Libs of TikTok error, posting screenshots of people asking on X why DeSantis would allow undocumented immigrants to get drivers licenses, saying, “This is something our comms team will be dealing with in perpetuity. It’s another false narrative that will never go away. All for clicks.”

But even before DeSantis upbraided Raichik, she did post a follow-up message saying “to clarify — Florida law does not allow illegals to get a drivers license.”

Some other conservatives on Twitter defended Raichik and questioned whether DeSantis or someone on his staff made the post.

Jenna Ellis, a lawyer who was part of former President Donald Trump’s legal team but backed DeSantis’ campaign for president, said in her own response “Why is everyone complaining that Gov DeSantis rightly called out Chaya? She should delete her post not just clarify several posts down in the thread. Truth cannot be a casualty of personality tribalism. Do better, ‘conservatives.’”

The back-and-forth is notable since DeSantis usually directs his ire toward his most ardent critics, although at the end of his presidential campaign he took swipes at Fox News and other conservative outlets that he said were propping up former President Donald Trump.

While @LibsofTikTok has 2.9 million followers, DeSantis has an even larger network. The two-term Florida governor, and one-time presidential candidate, has 4.7 million followers for his social media account on X.

The governor uses his main account to highlight speeches and press conferences and also has a separate personal account that focuses on more political topics. In many instances, it has been the governor’s top aides who have clashed loudly and often with political foes, including with Trump backers.

But on both accounts, DeSantis has shown a feisty and more personal approach since he dropped out of the presidential race in January, including posting videos of him with his children.

Raichik, whose @LibsofTikTok account picked up attention and support from conservatives due to her frequent broadsides against the LGBTQ+ community, told Tucker Carlson in a December 2022 interview that the DeSantis administration offered to let her stay at a guest house at the governor’s mansion for her safety. Raichik, who initially had been posting anonymously, said the offer came shortly after her identity was revealed.