Kamala Harris quickly dismissed Ron DeSantis' invite to discuss Florida's controversial education standards: 'There were no redeeming qualities of slavery'

• Vice President Kamala Harris quickly rejected Gov. Ron DeSantis' invite to discuss Florida's education standards.
• Harris has slammed Florida for adopting standards that would teach middle schoolers that enslaved people derived some benefits from slavery.

Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday quickly dismissed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' invitation for her to discuss the state's controversial education standards, furthering a fight between the White House and the state.

"I will tell you there is no roundtable, no lecture, no invitation we will accept to debate an undeniable fact: there were no redeeming qualities of slavery," Harris said during an event in Orlando.

Harris and the White House clearly see the fight as necessary as Tuesday marked her second time in the state since the education standards were released. Harris' Orlando appearance was previously scheduled before she and the governor got into it over a "benchmark clarification" for middle school students that calls for instruction to include "how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit."

DeSantis, who has struggled to pierce former President Donald Trump's national primary lead, is also clearly trying to use the fight with Harris to reenergize his beleaguered presidential campaign. It's not just Harris and Democrats that have taken issue with the guidelines.

Leading Black Republicans, including Sen. Tim Scott and Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, have also called out the notion that enslaved people could benefit from the horrific institution and business of slavery. Scott is also running for the GOP presidential nomination. While Donalds, who was once a close DeSantis ally, previously endorsed Trump.

Harris was responding to DeSantis' invitation for Harris to discuss the standards with Dr. William Allen, who served on an advisory committee that came up with 215-page standards. The governor's invitation also took multiple shots at Harris, suggesting his letter to the vice president was little more than a political ploy.

"I am prepared to meet as early as Wednesday of this week, but of course want to be deferential to your busy schedule should you already have a trip to the southern border planned for that day," DeSantis wrote, he concluded the note by adding "I hope you're feeling up to it!"