The easiest way for media/left-wing (but I repeat myself) narratives about conservative politicians or other high-profile right-leaning public figures to spread and take root in society is when Republicans do precious little to nothing in order to counter the premise of said narrative and debunk it with the actual facts.

Fortunately, Gov. Ron DeSantis is one Republican who is very savvy to this trick, and responds accordingly every time a reporter tries pulling it on him. There are too many instances of him doing this to document in one post, but the most recent one came during an event early Friday involving DeSantis touting a deal his administration made with Sea Lead Shipping company to move “part of its operations from California to JaxPort.”

As normally happens at these public appearances, DeSantis took questions from reporters. One of them asked him his view on the protest against the so-called “don’t say gay” bill making its way through the Florida state legislature. Although nowhere in the parental rights bill is the phrase “don’t say gay” used, critics of it – most of who are on the left and in the media – have succeeded in getting the press to refer to it as the “don’t say gay” bill as well. DeSantis pushed back big time on that phrasing after the reporter asked the question:

“Does the truth matter or not? Is that in any of these bills? Yes or no?”

[…]

“You actually look at the bill, and it says no sexual instruction in grades pre-K through 3. How many parents want their kindergarteners to have transgenderism or something injected into classroom instruction?

[…]

It’s basically saying for our younger students – do you really want them being taught about sex? And this is any sexual stuff. But I think clearly right now, we see a lot of focus on transgenderism, telling kids they may be able to pick genders and all of that. I don’t think parents want that for these young kids.”

Watch his full remarks in the clip below in which he absolutely shuts down the reporter and everyone else who is misrepresenting what the bill actually says:

.@GovRonDeSantis weighs in on the bill that doesn't say what the media says it does.

"I'm like 'there is no way it's true.' I didn't even look at the bill yet. I just knew it wasn't true. So you actually look at the bill, It says no sexual instruction in grades PreK-3." pic.twitter.com/KbHkbkiKFy

— Kyle Lamb (@kylamb8) March 4, 2022

Indeed, what the portion of the bill says as it relates to sexual orientation and gender identity is below:

“Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”

Literally nothing about banning discussions about LGBTQ issues. Just says they need to be age and developmentally appropriate, with the overall theme of the bill about making sure parents are absolutely part of the process and not kept out of the loop.

Understandably, making sure parents are an essential part of the process when it comes to public school lesson plans on very sensitive topics is upsetting to The Usual Suspects. Fortunately, DeSantis doesn’t give a rip, which I’m sure is one reason why he’s indicated he supports the bill even though it wasn’t something he pushed for as a legislative priority.

Related: Ron DeSantis Posts Pitch-Perfect Response to Media Pearl-Clutchers Over School Mask Nontroversy