DeSantis cuts ties with staffer who superimposed his face into Nazi imagery
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) let go a presidential campaign staffer who retweeted a video with Nazi imagery earlier this week.
On Sunday, the staffer, identified as Nate Hochman, retweeted a video from a DeSantis fan account that superimposed a sunwheel over the face of the conservative politician. A source speaking with Axios later claimed that Hochman had created the video himself before sending it to the fan account.
A sunwheel, also known as a sonnenrad, is an ancient European symbol that was appropriated not only by the Nazis but by modern far-right groups as well.
In a statement Semafor on Tuesday, an official for the DeSantis campaign confirmed that Hochman, who had been working as a speechwriter, had been let go.
"Nate Hochman is no longer with the campaign," the official said.
In further remarks to the Hill, the campaign added that it would "not be commenting on [Hochman] further."
The campaign did not confirm whether Hochman's promotion of the video led to his outing. The dismissal comes the same day as reports that DeSantis was trimming his team and letting approximately a third of his staff go.
The incident comes just weeks after the DeSantis campaign promoted another video featuring anti-LGBTQ content. It was later revealed by the New York Times that the video, which was passed off as being made by a fan, had actually been produced by a staffer as well. It is unknown is Hochman was behind that video as well.
Prior to his short stint with the DeSantis campaign, Hochman worked for the conservative publication the National Review. The hiring by DeSantis had been controversial from the beginning given Hochman's history of praising white nationalist Nick Fuentes.
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