The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

Being an unapologetic supporter of the Republican Party, I was deeply troubled by the inflammatory comments by Republican Party presidential nominee Ron DeSantis, the current governor of our next door neighbour in Florida. Like myself, and many evangelical Christians in North America and Great Britain, DeSantis supports Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas and other hostile Islamic states bent on pushing it into the Mediterranean Sea.

DeSantis had no legitimate reason to use The Bahamas in his inflammatory analogy. As the governor of the State of Florida -- a mere 50 miles west of Bimini -- DeSantis is acutely aware of The Bahamas' racial demographic. Eighty-five percent of the population is Black. Whites are a minority. Why am I discussing the matter of race? Because I believe DeSantis could've very well decided to pick on The Bahamas because of its large Black population.

He could've used the predominantly white Cuba or even Canada instead. It was the Castro regime that collaborated with the communist Russian government in the Cuban Missile crisis during the John F Kennedy administration in the early sixties. That he would mention The Bahamas is indeed telling. My suspicions are reinforced by the potentially racist gaffe DeSantis uttered while campaigning during the Florida gubernatorial election in 2018.

After it was announced that the African American Democratic candidate and Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum was elected in his party's primary contest, DeSantis remarked that Florida voters would "monkey this up" if Gillum is elected. In Jim Crow America Blacks were often referred to as monkeys. One of the devastating consequences of Darwinism has been the systemic racism in Europe and North America against ethnic groups such as Jews and Blacks. Rather than viewing man as created in the image of God, Darwinists see him as an advanced primate.

As a potential Republican presidential candidate, DeSantis could become the next president of the United States, considering the growing unpopularity of President Joe Biden. If DeSantis has such a low, condescending estimation of Black people, what would he do to this country as the most powerful man in the world? Would he entertain the thought of discouraging White Americans from travelling to The Bahamas? This country's continued prosperity is contingent on our decades-old relationship with the United States. While I support the Republican Party, I am hoping that DeSantis is not given the nomination to run in 2024.

KEVIN EVANS

Freeport,

Grand Bahama.

November 14, 2023.