Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has fired a staff member who was found to have retweeted a Nazi imagery video that featured the Republican's face.
The employee in question was later identified as Nate Hochman, who shared the video on Twitter over the weekend before quickly deleting it. He is a communications staffer who has previously written for various media outlets and is considered an up-and-coming thinker on the right.
DeSantis Staffer Fired Over Nazi Imagery Video
In a statement, a DeSantis campaign official said that Hochman was no longer a member of the Florida governor's team, noting that they would not comment further on the matter. On the other hand, Hochmandid not immediately respond to a request for comment on the issue.
The DeSantis staffer shared the controversial video from the Twitter account @desantiscams, criticizing former United States President Donald Trump. It also concluded with an image that showed DeSantis standing in front of a sonnenrad, a symbol co-opted by the Nazis and promoted in modern times by fascist sympathizers, as soldiers marched by, as per NBC News.
Luke Thompson, a Republican strategist who regularly criticizes the DeSantis campaign on Twitter, was one of the first to note the controversial video. The situation comes as the account has previously shared similar types of pro-DeSantis videos since it was formally launched in March.
Reports from last year revealed that Hochman participated in a Twitter Space with Nick Fuentes, a known white nationalist, saying that the latter is "probably a better influence than Ben Shapiro on young men who might otherwise be conservative."
In the months after the official beginning of DeSantis' campaign, more than 40% of its original staff have been fired. The situation followed concerns over its spending and large staff footprint, resulting in 38 staffers in total being cut. At least 26 of those were fired on Tuesday afternoon.
Florida Governor's Campaign
The video that Hochman shared on Twitter lasted a minute and nine seconds and depicted a "wojack" that was becoming happy over DeSantis' policies against the LGBTQIA+ community as well as attacks on education within the state and diversity, equity, and inclusion, according to the Pensacola News Journal.
It remained to be seen whether or not Hochman saw the sonnenrad before sharing the video on Twitter. The situation comes as the former DeSantis staffer was previously highlighted for his conviction as a "counter-revolutionary" and was considered the "young MAGA Whisperer."
The firing of Hochman comes amid the DeSantis campaign's efforts to get his primary bid back on track. In a statement, The governor's campaign manager, Generra Peck, said they have taken additional, aggressive steps to streamline operations and put the Republican in the strongest position to win the GOP primary.
The staff cuts are the latest development that shows that the Republican team is shifting to a slim-down operation amid various concerns over its financial condition. The DeSantis campaign previously announced that it had raised $20 million during the second quarter of 2023. However, it had already spent a large portion of that money, said Politico.
