Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., is being accused of making a racially offensive remark and "dog-whistling" to racists in an interview on Fox News Wednesday.

DeSantis, the newly nominated Republican candidate for governor of Florida, warned voters that voting for his Democratic socialist opponent Andrew Gillum would ruin the Florida economy, saying, “We need to build on the success of Gov. Scott. The last thing we need to do is monkey this up by enacting a socialist agenda with huge tax increases.”

Gillum, the Bernie Sanders-endorsed Democrat, supports socialist policies like single-payer "Medicare for All" health care and higher taxes. DeSantis contends that this anti-business attitude would undo the economic gains Florida made under Republican Gov. Rick Scott's leadership.

Gillum is black. DeSantis' comments were almost immediately ripped out of context and interpreted as racially motivated.

In a statement from DeSantis' campaign made to Fox News, the campaign dismissed these characterizations as "absurd."

"Ron DeSantis was obviously talking about Florida not making the wrong decision to embrace the socialist policies that Andrew Gillum espouses. To characterize it as anything else is absurd. Florida's economy has been on the move for the last eight years and the last thing we need is a far-left Democrat trying to stop our success."