DeSantis campaign fires aide who shared clip with Nazi symbol
- Published
The DeSantis campaign declined to elaborate on the reason for Nate Hochman's sacking
The US presidential campaign of Ron DeSantis has fired an aide who shared online a clip featuring a symbol that was adopted by the Nazis.
Nate Hochman, a speechwriter, posted the 68-second video from a pro-DeSantis account on social media over the weekend before quickly deleting it.
The clip shows Mr DeSantis superimposed on a sonnenrad, or sun-wheel.
US media reports say Mr Hochman, 25, created the video. When contacted by the BBC, he declined to comment.
It comes as the Florida governor's 2024 campaign shaved more than a third of staff from its payroll on Tuesday.
A campaign spokesman confirmed Mr Hochman's sacking, but declined to elaborate.
"Nate Hochman is no longer with the campaign," the official told the BBC's US partner CBS News. "And we will not be commenting on him further."
The video was posted on Saturday by an anonymously run account followed by several DeSantis staffers on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The clip ends with the seal of Florida turning into a spinning sonnenrad, superimposed with Mr DeSantis' face and with rifle-bearing soldiers marching on either side.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, an anti-hate monitor, the sonnenrad is an ancient European symbol that was "appropriated by the Nazis in their attempt to invent an idealised 'Aryan/Norse' heritage".
Modern-day white supremacists have adopted versions of the sonnenrad. Other variations include the swastika.
Reports from Axios, external and Semafor, external said Mr Hochman created the now-deleted video,
It is the second online clip to spark criticism of Mr DeSantis.
Last month, another since-deleted production promoted by the campaign marked the end of Pride month by accusing Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination, of being too friendly with the LGBT community.
The clip, a compilation of online memes and pop culture footage, was criticised as both homophobic and homoerotic.
He left his post at the conservative National Review magazine to join the DeSantis campaign's communications team in March.
Mr Hochman was one of 38 staffers fired in recent weeks in a bid to "streamline operations", the campaign confirmed on Tuesday.
Mr DeSantis has dropped below 20% in national opinion polls as Mr Trump widens his lead over a crowded Republican field of White House hopefuls.
Wealthy donors have told US media they are looking at other candidates, and recent fundraising numbers suggest the Florida governor has also struggled to gain traction with small-dollar grassroots donors.
But the campaign is relying on Never Back Down, an independent super PAC that has amassed $130m (£100m) in support for Mr DeSantis.
CBS News reported on Tuesday that Never Back Down has hired hundreds of volunteers and is shouldering much of the organising in early voting states.
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