Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called the criticism of his Black history curriculum in Florida a "hoax" pushed by Vice President Kamala Harris.
During Wednesday night's second GOP presidential primary debate, DeSantis — one of the top candidates in the primary election — was asked about his comments defending his state curriculum on slavery.
DeSantis was put on defense in August after Harris and left-wing media outlets claimed Florida's curriculum teaches students that slaves in the U.S. "benefited from slavery" — an accusation which DeSantis' administration has fiercely denied.
"So, first of all, that's a hoax that was perpetrated by Kamala Harris, we are not going to be doing that," DeSantis said.
"Second of all, that was written by descendants of slaves, these are great Black history scholars," the Florida governor continued.
"We need to stop playing these games," DeSantis continued, saying America's education system "is in decline" due to its focus "on indoctrination, denying parents' rights."
DeSantis said his state "represents the revival of American education" while touting his push for school choice in Florida.
South Carolina Senator Tim Scott weighed in on DeSantis' comments, saying that there "is not a redeeming quality in slavery."
"He and Kamala should just have taken the one sentence out," Scott said.
Wednesday night saw seven GOP candidates take the stage as they push to be the Republican nominee on the 2024 White House ballot.
The debate saw some fiery moments, including an exchange between businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott over the latter's 2018 business partnership with a Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-linked firm.
Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Heckman contributed reporting.
