TALLAHASSEE, FL—Prompted by social media posts poking fun at his Harvard University degree, Trump ally Rep. Randy Fine is calling on the Senate President and Speaker of the House to investigate Gov. Ron DeSantis' communications team.
This is only the latest chapter in the ever-lengthening Fine v. DeSantis saga, which was sparked after DeSantis flew to a country Fine says endorses "Muslim terror": Ireland.
"If one of my taxpayer-funded staff ever engaged another elected official in the manner in which three members of the Governor’s staff has tonight—and often and routinely does—I would fire them immediately," Fine posted to X Wednesday night, calling their "inappropriate and unprofessional" behavior potentially illegal. "Tomorrow, I will be calling on the Senate President and the Speaker of the House to investigate whether certain positions in the Governor’s office are necessary given how frequently they are involved in personal and political activities for the Governor."
"It’s hard to imagine, with three people doing it simultaneously, that it isn’t greenlit from above," Fine told The Floridian when asked for further comment, insinuating that either DeSantis himself or possibly his Chief of Staff James Uthmeier gave the go-ahead.
"It honestly doesn’t bother me personally, I just think it looks like a clown show," he added.
Thursday night, DeSantis' senior analyst Christina Pushaw, his press secretary Jeremy Redfern, and his former communications director Taryn Fenske piled on to Fine via X to make fun of him and his Harvard degree.
"Will @VoteRandyFine give back his Harvard degree now?!" Fenske questioned, kicking off the Harvard debacle. She was responding to a Fox News article revealing that former UPenn President Liz Magill, who resigned after her testimony on antisemitism on campus, has been hired at Harvard.
Pushaw added on, trolling Fine—who's running for state Senate with a Trump endorsement—for getting "ratioed", wondering if common sense is taught at Harvard, and claiming he is too busy accusing people who visit Ireland of being antisemitic.
Redfern responded soon after, posing the question: "How do you know that Randy went to Harvard? Just wait 10 minutes, and he will tell you."
Of that, Fine told The Floridian that, "The calling me by my first name is just unreal."
Fine, the state Legislature's sole Jewish Republican, has been a leading pro-Israel advocate—to the point that he plans to file legislation putting Irish, Norwegian, and Spanish businesses on the "scrutinized companies" list after they recognized Palestine as a state in May. When DeSantis went to Ireland last week for an FSU v. Georgia Tech football game.
Fine said he was "disappointed" to see anyone visit a country supporting "Muslim terror."
In response, DeSantis inquired if Fine would stop taking money "from all the lobbyists" considering many attended the Dublin-based game. Fine, in turn, said people have "grown used to" DeSantis' "childish" comments and overall "petulance."
Now, the communications team is taking on Harvard.
