Don Cheadle Ads Call Out Ron DeSantis' Racism, Tell Voters To Elect Andrew Gillum

Radio and digital advertisements calling out Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis ’ racist behavior, featuring actor Don Cheadle’s voice, have been launched in Jacksonville, Florida.

DeSantis is facing off against Democrat Andrew Gillum  and has repeatedly been embroiled in racist scandals during his campaign. The five-figure campaign ads, launched by American Bridge have Cheadle going through those scandals in an effort to encourage voters to vote for Gillum. The radio spots are running on African-American radio stations in Jacksonville.

First, Cheadle points out DeSantis’ refusal to return campaign contributions from a donor who referred to former President Barack Obama as a “Muslim n****r” in a tweet. Then Cheadle addresses DeSantis’ role as the reported moderator of a racist Facebook group that targeted African-Americans, Muslims and survivors of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. 

The ad also touches on DeSantis’ support for the Three-Fifths Compromise, criticism of black Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and telling voters in August to not “monkey this up ” by voting for Gillum.

“I got a little compromise for you — how about we agree that you’re three-fifths ... Andrew already said it best. Take it away,” says Cheadle toward the end of the ads, which cut to the now-viral clip of Gillum saying , “I’m not calling Mr. DeSantis a racist. I’m simply saying the racists believe he’s a racist.”

American Bridge spokesman Zach Hudson doubled down on this statement in a press release for the ads, saying, “If Ron DeSantis writes like a racist, and talks like a racist, then …”