Republican candidates struggle to respond to racist shooting in Jacksonville

Three people were shot and killed in Jacksonville, Florida, over the weekend in a racist attack. It’s a horrific loss of life and just the latest in a series of racist mass killings that has included Charleston, South Carolina; Buffalo, New York; El Paso, Texas; and more. Republican responses remain as weak as ever, on both the guns part of racist mass shootings and the racism part of racist mass shootings, but there were extra-special moments from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

DeSantis was booed by some in the crowd at a vigil for the victims. This follows years of him attacking any recognition of racism in this country and his restrictions on teaching about it. DeSantis, who has also weakened Florida’s gun laws, played the tough guy in his comments on the shooting, describing it as the work of a “major league scumbag.”

"What he did is totally unacceptable in the state of Florida," DeSantis said. "We are not going to let people be targeted based on their race." However, he does not seem to have addressed whether Florida teachers could discuss this killing honestly with their students without being vulnerable under DeSantis-signed state laws.