- Christina Pushaw, the press secretary for Republican Florida Gov. In an interview with Daily Caller News Foundation, Ron DeSantis described her strategy for dealing with corporate media.
- “Legacy media are used to being gatekeepers and to setting the narrative, having everybody, even politicians just follow that,” Pushaw explained to the DCNF. “That’s why this was so triggering for them.”
Conservatives must reject media framing when they are inaccurate or biased. However, her inability to take the media’s story into consideration has led to backlash. “HTMO_
Christina Pushaw, press secretary for Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been trying to defend Democrats and corporate media by refusing partisan narratives.
Pushaw has garnered national attention for her active and sometimes aggressive interactions with journalists. Pushaw’s aggressive and sometimes violent interactions with journalists have attracted national attention. This strategy could be a model for conservatives willing to challenge the media’s interpretations of events and speak on their terms.
The media’s interest in Pushaw is a product of their obsession with DeSantis, Pushaw told the DCNF, which began in 2020 when Florida opened schools and businesses earlier than other states and became subject to constant media criticism. DeSantis was largely indifferent to his media critics, but Pushaw explained that her strategy is similar to her boss. She doesn’t accept the media framing an issue if they are misleading or partisan and uses Twitter’s platform to communicate directly with people.
It has come to my attention that some liberal media activists are mad because they aren’t allowed into #SunshineSummit this weekend. I suggest they try to cry about it. Go to kickboxing, and then have a margarita. Write the hit piece that you had planned to write.
— Christina Pushaw (@ChristinaPushaw) July 22, 2022
“Legacy media is used to being gatekeepers, to setting the narrative and having everyone, including politicians, just go along with that,” she said. With the credibility of the media collapsing and more people looking to social media and other sources for news, mainstream media outlets are losing their ability to shape the narrative, she said. This was why they found it so distressing. They are no longer gatekeepers and this is making them anxious. They can’t tell us the truth or lie .”
HTML3_ When they’ve had such a history of lying HTML3_ HTML3_ While Florida legislators were considering Parental Rights in education bill that banned sexuality instruction in classrooms from kindergarten to third grade, Pushaw pointed out that it was the “Anti-Groomer Bill,” which she felt was better. Educating children that it is possible to be born in an unnatural body, and that they have the right to choose their pronouns when they are in kindergarten, she stated.
If you oppose the Anti-Grooming Bill you probably are a groomer. Or at the very least, you do not denounce the grooming and abuse of children aged 4-8 years old. Silence can be considered complicity. It’s how it works for Democrats. I did not make the rules.
— Christina Pushaw (@ChristinaPushaw) March 4, 2022
“That was one thing, I think, that really set off media activists, because they are not used to us conservatives using their tactics against them,” she said. “Why should we accept their framing and defend ourselves from these completely ridiculous and absurd accusations when the main issue is that Democrats are lobbying against a bill that just protects kids from gender indoctrination in kindergarten?”
Pushaw, a California native, began working for DeSantis in May 2021 after working for several years at conservative and libertarian-leaning organizations. (RELATED: DeSantis’ Spokeswoman Shreds WaPo For 2,000-Word Article Whining About Her Tweets)
Criticisms of Pushaw generally focus on her aggressive approach to Twitter, such as the 2,000-word article complaining about her tweets published in The Washington Post July 27.
The Associated Press pushed Twitter to suspend her account in August 2021 after she tweeted criticisms of an AP article which had insinuated that Florida’s monoclonal antibody treatments were part of a corruption scheme, including tweets that read “drag them” and which told the author she would “put [him] on blast.” She said the suggestions of corruption were inaccurate despite lengthy clarifications she provided to the author, and she thought the article could have scared people away from using the treatment.
” I try to refute and debunk disinformation and flat out smears both from the media and from some partisan critics. That’s the way that I use my Twitter account.
Pushaw often shares screenshots from interactions she has with journalists via Twitter when she is unhappy with the story’s frame or believes statements made by her office are misrepresented. Her office gets hundreds of emails daily from journalists. If an inquiry is not in good faith or rests on flawed premises, or repeats partisan talking points she will first address the matter with the reporter. With the national media it often seems that they have written the story before reaching out to us, and don’t allow us enough time to reply. She said that even if they do reply, they would cut down our responses. I try to meet with each reporter before they start writing the story. If the reporter publishes something without giving anyone on my team an opportunity to reply, I will call them out. If they publish something that’s not true but it looks like they’re trying to get it right, I will reach out to them directly.”
This approach doesn’t apply to every writer, Pushaw explained.
This is with real journalists. Some people I do not consider journalists are Taylor Lorenz, the Washington Post columnist or The View’s ladies; they are commentators. She said that they are pundits and have a history of repeating falsehoods. Jeremy Redfern was the press secretary of the Florida Department of Health. He said that Pushaw’s strategy provides DeSantis with the right tools to overcome biased and unrelenting media coverage. She understands what’s happening and the drive that Governor DeSantis has to protect Floridians,” Redfern told DCNF. Throughout their interview, Pushaw often redirected attention back to DeSantis. She emphasized his accomplishments and what she thinks the media have missed about him. Pushaw has been featured in numerous articles from national media outlets, but she insists the attention is misguided. They try to turn me into a powerful figure, when in reality I’m merely a communications worker,” she stated.
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