Florida’s attacks on academic freedom just got even worse

‘Rufo has escalated his attacks on New College, transforming a board of trustees meeting into an ideologically-driven attack on academic freedom – and eliminating the school’s gender studies department.’ Photograph: Douglas R Clifford/AP

Ron DeSantis’s presidential campaign is flailing: the Florida governor, once considered a formidable contestant for the Republican nomination, is polling at a pathetic 14.8% among the Republican contenders. His camp is struggling to raise money, and the candidate’s public appearances have revealed him to be interpersonally unpleasant – coming off stiff, judgmental and creepy.

At the Iowa state fair last week, DeSantis was caught on video telling a little girl, who was clutching a fairground treat, “that’s probably a lot of sugar”. The governor, a man so joyless that he scolded a child for eating candy, was later the subject of a taunting banner flown over one of his events: “Be Likable, Ron!”