'A big lie': Ron DeSantis slammed for partially blaming Trump for Satanic temple display in Iowa Capitol

DES MOINES, IOWA: GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis sparked a furious backlash as he pinned partial blame on former president Donald Trump for a controversial satanic display in the Iowa state Capitol building.

On Tuesday, December 12, the 45-year-old Florida governor appeared at a CNN town hall where he addressed the ongoing controversy sparked after The Satanic Temple of Iowa erected a public display depicting a statue of Baphomet, a goat-headed figure often used to represent Satan.

The display, which is scheduled to run until December 16, also features seven tenets upheld by the Satanic Temple, according to the Gazette.

Conservatives in Iowa were outraged by the display and strongly condemned it, believing that the state legislature or the Republican governor of the state should have blocked its installation.

However, the Department of Administrative Services in Iowa stated that the Satanic organization complied with all legal criteria to put up the display, KWWL-TV reported.

"Like many Iowans, I find the Satanic Temple’s display in the Capitol absolutely objectionable," Governor Kim Reynolds, who endorsed DeSantis, said in a statement.

"In a free society, the best response to objectionable speech is more speech, and I encourage all those of faith to join me today in praying over the Capitol and recognizing the nativity scene that will be on display – the true reason for the season," Reynolds added.

What did DeSantis say about the Satanic temple display?

During his appearance, DeSantis criticized Trump's administration for granting the Satanic Temple religious classification under the Internal Revenue Service in 2019.

"So it's interesting," DeSantis told CNN's Jake Tapper, adding "I heard this and then I was like, well, how did it get there? Is that even a religion? And lo and behold, the Trump administration gave them approval to be under the IRS as a religion. So that gave them the legal ability to potentially do it."

DeSantis continued, "So I don't know what the legislature, how they analyzed it, but it very well may be because of that ruling under Donald Trump that they may have had a legal leg to stand on.”

“My view would be that that's not a religion that the founding fathers were trying to create. But I do think that IRS ruling, I was really surprised to see that they did that,” he added, according to Fox News.

At one point, Tapper clarified that the 2019 move does not mean the government necessarily supports the group, to which DeSantis replied "Yeah, exactly,"

"But they recognized it as a religion, otherwise you wouldn't be able to do it. I don't think that was the right decision… that's wrong,” he further expressed.

When asked if the display should be taken down, DeSantis said, "Yeah, I mean look, I think if they're going to get sued on it, I think you fight that fight."

Internet reacts to Ron DeSantis’ remarks

After DeSantis’ comments surfaced on social media, many users slammed him for blaming the Trump administration for a satanic temple display in the Iowa state capitol.

“Sorry Ron but there’s this pesky thing called the Constitution and the very first thing called an amendment says something about Freedom of Religion,” one user stated.

“Nothing is more entertaining than watching him with the sound off,” the second user trolled. “This is a big lie,” the third user sided with Trump.

“If DeSantis keeps attacking Trump, he will not get my vote no matter what happens with Trump. I’m fairly certain many people feel that way about both him and Haley,” the fourth user fumed.

“DeSanctimonious is a lying, backstabbing globalist case closed,” the fifth user said while another one wrote, “Animated clown! What a drama queen.”