Fox & Friends attempts to excuse away Rep. Ron DeSantis' “monkey” remark

Brian Kilmeade: “If you know Congressman DeSantis ... you don't think for a second that he is racist”

From the August 30 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends:

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ED HENRY (GUEST CO-HOST): Immediately, controversy for Ron DeSantis as he comes on Fox yesterday morning and basically, yes, he's talking about the socialist policies of Andrew Gillum and trying to have a clear difference, trying to show sharp lines there on policy, but he kind of stepped in it because he used a word that suggested, to some, that he was talking about race. 

...

BRIAN KILMEADE (CO-HOST): People are saying, “Wow, it's a dog whistle, this is a race (sic). And Andrew Gillum says, ”Hey, you know what, it's not a dog whistle, it's a bullhorn." I actually don't think, if you hear those remarks, you wouldn't think for a second -- if you know Congressman DeSantis and his background, you don't think for a second that he's racist, nor do you think that it's a dog whistle, I wouldn't think, that anyone would come to that conclusion, unless people saw that as a political opportunity to label him a certain way.

Previously:

After Rep. Ron DeSantis said Andrew Gillum would “monkey” up Florida, conservative media trotted out their playbook to spin away racist comments

Fox anchor says the network does not condone Ron DeSantis' racist remarks about Andrew Gillum, does not say what the comments were

In softball interview Hannity tells Ron DeSantis that people are “purposely taking comments out of context”