A disgruntled former staffer for the Florida gubernatorial campaign of James Fishback has revealed a series of bizarre texts to The Bulwark that show chaos behind the scenes.
Bryant Fulgham, the staffer in question, showed that staffers were alarmed about Fishback's financial problems, including rumors that his couch would be repossessed, as well as abusive-looking behavior toward his employees, chewing them out for various things, and strange fixations rooted in white nationalist "Groyper" culture.
"Fulgham ultimately quit the Fishback campaign, and not because he didn’t have a couch to sleep on," noted the report. "Instead, he says his departure came because he ran afoul of a veterans group for sailors on USS Liberty — a ship Israel accidentally sank during the Six-Day War in 1967. The ship has become a rallying cry for groypers, who are heavily critical of the U.S. – Israel alliance (to say nothing of their embrace of antisemitism). Fulgham claims he clashed with one of the veterans over how much of their expenses the campaign would cover for an event, after which Liberty crew members complained to Fishback."
"Asked about Fulgham’s criticism and account of his exit from the campaign, Fishback claimed Fulgham never held the 'county outreach chair' position," reported Will Sommer. "Fulgham provided me with an organizational chart that listed him holding the role, as well as internal campaign documents that showed him coordinating the campaign’s county chairs. Additionally, Fulgham sent me several pictures that showed him speaking closely with Fishback or in prominent positions at campaign events. 'Jesus Christ,' Fulgham said, 'I’ve created Frankenstein.'"
The oddities don't end there, said the report.
"The campaign chats are also filled with what you’d expect from a group of groypers. Twice, staffers refer to Fishback or his supporters as 'YNs' — a slang term involving the n-word. At one point, Alex Munguia — a Fishback associate who, while still in college, participated in many of his hedge-fund antics and is now a senior adviser to his campaign — expressed enthusiasm for [Groyper founder Nick] Fuentes’s view that heterosexual sex is actually, well, gay. 'Only thing straighter than straight sex is actually gay sex,' Munguia wrote in a chatroom for top Fishback staffers."
Fishback, despite trailing badly in all polls of the race to President Donald Trump's endorsed candidate, Rep. Byron Donalds, has managed to grab headline after headline with his antics. He has compared his Black opponent's political donations to a slave auction, has fantasized about former CNN reporter Don Lemon being lynched, and recently got banned from every Waffle House in Florida.
