Florida Gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist said President Biden was being "honest about what he feels in his heart and his soul" when he labeled the Trump-led "MAGA" Republican Party as <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2022/08/25/biden_maga_republicans_are_a_threat_to_our_democracy_embrace_political_violence.html">"semi-fascist"</a> during a political speech last week. <blockquote>PAMELA BROWN, CNN: Let me ask you about -- going back to President Biden. This week at a DNC fundraiser the president criticized extreme MAGA philosophy and said it's almost like semi-fascism. There has been a lot of pushback to this. GOP Governor Chris Sununu talked about it today. Let's listen. <A HREF="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2022/08/28/nh_gov_sununu_biden_should_apologize_for_insulting_comments_that_trumpism_is_fascism.html">NEW HAMPSHIRE GOV. CHRIS SUNUNU: Horribly insulting. I mean, the fact that the president would go out and just insult half of America because effectively half America votes Republican, and half of America ultimately votes Democrat. You know, it swings a little bit one way or the other. But effectively call half of America semi-fascist because he is trying to stir up controversy, he's trying to stir up this anti-Republican sentiment right before the election. It's just -- it's horribly inappropriate, it's insulting, and people should be insulted by it. And he should apologize. GOV. RON DESANTIS (R), FLORIDA: People like Hochul and Crist are representative of this leftist mindset that they do believe the conservative half of the country are effectively second class citizens.</A> BROWN: Your opponent DeSantis taking the chance there to criticize you as well as we heard. Some are saying this is as bad as when Hillary Clinton termed Trump supporters deplorables. Do you think that's a productive message from the president of the United States against millions of Americans? CHARLIE CRIST: I think what's important is to state the facts as they are. I'm running against Ron DeSantis. He is my only opponent. And so I want to talk about what he's done to my state. He recently fired a state attorney in the Tampa Bay area, well respected, because he expressed an opinion about, you know, what he would do in terms of exercising his prosecutorial discretion. He also, Governor DeSantis, teed off on Walt Disney World. Why? Because they decided to express their right to free speech about a piece of legislation the governor was considering signing. And as a result, because they exercised their right to free speech, he tees off on them. Now, I don't know what term you want to apply to that. I think, you know, he's an autocrat who clearly wants to tell everybody what to do, including women, taking away African-American congressional districts in my state, two of them. Making it harder to vote. He is anti-Democratic. I'll put that label on him. I'm a Democrat running to fight for and protect democracy, everybody's right to vote, and he is on the other side of it making it hard to mail in ballots. BROWN: I understand -- and you've taken that position repeatedly against your opponent Ron DeSantis, but when it comes to President Biden you have said you wanted him to come campaign with you in Florida so it does matter what the president says, and how you view it. So, again, let me just ask you what do you think about the president calling millions of Americans semi-fascist? CRIST: Listen, he's got to express and be honest about what he feels in his heart and his soul. And I think that's probably exactly what he did. Now, to your question, do I want him to come campaign for me? Absolutely. I mean, what he's done, I'm wearing the American and Ukrainian flag. How he's handled that situation is almost miraculous. You know, keeping the E.U. together. Expanding NATO. Doing what's right to make sure that these people who are literally fighting and losing their lives to fight and defend democracy against a giant opponent Russia, it's remarkable what the president has done, and probably because it's all based on relationships that he has had over the years. He's trusted. He's a decent guy. He works hard. He tells the truth. And I think that's exactly what he's done. </blockquote>