Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback (YouTube Screengrab)
MAGA Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback is no stranger to pratfalls and ridicule, but the Miami New Times reports he’s also quick to let slip the occasional misinformation.
“In a departure from his usual rage-bait and white nationalist content on social media, far-right gubernatorial candidate James Fishback on Sunday shared a clip of himself giving what was supposed to be an inspirational speech for graduates of the Broward County high school he once attended," said the Times.
“In 2023, I was honored to deliver the commencement address at my alma mater, Boyd H. Anderson High School,” said Fishback in a March 22 post on X.
Only he wasn’t, reports the Times, because Fishback was neither at the class of 2023 event nor the commencement speaker.
The clip Fishback shared was actually from the 2022 Boyd H. Anderson High School graduation ceremony, and the commencement speaker was not Fishback but a chief administrative officer of a West Palm Beach healthcare company.
“Fishback was introduced as a ‘former student’ and spoke for less than five minutes, whereas the commencement speaker spoke for nearly 20 minutes,” reports the Times. “The clip he shared on X was his full speech.”
The timing of this matters, said Times reporter Naomi Feinstein, because the Broward School District announced in 2022 that it had severed ties with the controversial Fishback and the student debate organization he oversees due to sexual misconduct allegations involving a minor.
Keinah Fort, who the Times reports unsuccessfully asked a court for a January protection order against Fishback, claimed he “initiated a romantic relationship” with her in 2022 when she was 17, and he was 27 and “explicitly directed” her to keep the relationship a secret.
Fishback, reports the Times, denied Fort’s claims in a Tuesday phone call, and even claims the school district never “cut ties” with him because its students still attend his debate tournaments. There is no official contract for the school to end, he said.
As of Wednesday, Fishback has not removed or updated his March 22 claim on X.