After James Fishback’s speech in the College of Sciences on Thursday, he spent some time talking with audience members. He emphasized that, as governor, he would help young voters by addressing affordability issues through a range of policies.
Minaal Arain
Droves of students lined up outside the College of Sciences building on Thursday as they anticipated the second appearance of Republican gubernatorial candidate James Fishback at UCF, on the final stop of his 1989 Tour across major universities in Florida.
A heavy law enforcement presence marked the event to ensure safety. Students were not allowed to bring bags or personal belongings and were required to pass through metal detectors; those flagged were screened with handheld wands.
Fishback himself arrived with a personal security detail, several of whom wore badges on their belts identifying them with private security agencies. Representatives of Fishback’s campaign were seen carting around T-shirts for $40 to sell to students in line that read “No American Should Die for Israel.”
A majority of the audience in attendance were young white males, many of whom were donning “America First” hats. Some attendees, as young as 8th grade, came out to show their support for Fishback.
Many of the topics Fishback touched upon in his nearly an hour-and-a-half-long speech seemed pertinent to the current generation of young conservative voters in Florida. The promises he was campaigning on were completely dismantling Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives in jobs and universities, getting rid of H1-B visas and removing abortion clinics.
Fishback was critical of the current education system in Florida, specifically those that operate in public universities like UCF, claiming he would “clean up shop” and put Florida universities “on the map, and take them to the next level.”
A couple of ways Fishback said he will enact these plans is by lowering tuition costs and cracking down on UCF faculty who “wake up and indoctrinate their students,” despite his claim that these teachers are a small minority of problematic educators that have become “pawns of our grand political system.”
“You and I both know there are a lot of self-important, overpaid bureaucrats who work at this school,” Fishback said during his speech. “We’re going to find out who they are very, very quickly. First thing, whoever’s got a Gucci loafer has got to go. There’s no way you’re working at UCF, and you got Gucci loafers.”
“The second thing is, we’re going to email every single university employee, heck, every single state government employee, and ask them, ‘What did you do last week? Name five things,’” Fishback continued. “If you don’t respond, you’re fired. If you name fewer than five things, you’re not exactly indispensable, and you’re fired. And if any of those five things are contrary to the constitutional principle of equality, you’re also fired.”
Polling averages show Byron Donalds, the Republican candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump, holding a commanding lead in the Republican primary, hovering around the 40 percent mark across recent surveys. Despite Fishback’s claim that he is “firmly in second place,” he remains in the low single digits, typically around 4-6%, placing him well behind other candidates in the running, like Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and former House Speaker Paul Renner.
Fishback’s speech was littered with popular internet meme terms like “6-7” and “that’s cap,” and much criticism of Israel, all of which resulted in a resounding laughter and approval from the young crowd.
“It is wrong, and it is evil to look a family in the eye and say, ‘There isn’t money for you, but there’s $5 billion to give to Israel to wage a genocide,’” Fishback said.
Gubernatorial candidate James Fishback took pictures with his supporters after a speech at the College of Sciences on Thursday. While Fishback leads within a young male audience, Rep. Byron Donalds is currently ahead in the Republican primary race for governor with 46% of potential votes, compared to Fishback’s 4%, according to a poll by Emerson College.
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Fishback declared that before the sun sets on the first day of being sworn in as governor of Florida, he would divest $385 million in funds given to Israel and use that money to create a down payment assistance program he calls “Rise and Shine.” This initiative, he said, will give young newlyweds in Florida a $10,000 grant to buy a home.
“We’re going to invest in our people,” Fishback told the audience. “You have a job, you’re in a relationship, you’re settled down, you’re doing the right thing, and you’re not relying on the government as a form of welfare, there’s a $10,000 check with your name on it to buy your first home, to have your family, to have kids and to live out the full American dream right here in Florida.”
Fishback said that if teachers are pushing white guilt, telling white students to apologize to Black students, or engaging in what he called “academic racism,” they would be fired, no questions asked, and removed from school grounds.
Another promise he made to the crowd was that he would start a special task force to investigate perpetrators involved in the Epstein files in Palm Beach, which prompted wild applause. The promise comes despite Fishback’s vocal support for President Trump, whom he has called “the greatest president in U.S. history” and “a real fighter,” according to the Florida Phoenix.
Trump is referenced hundreds of times throughout the Epstein files, with records documenting him flying on Epstein’s private jet on multiple occasions throughout the 1990s. Trump has not been credibly accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
However, Fishback has been no stranger to controversy in the past.
Aubrey Jewett, a professor of political science at UCF and an expert on Florida politics, believes his controversial persona, confrontational style and willingness to voice anti-establishment and provocative views have resonated with young conservative men.
“He has said and done a number of controversial things,” Jewett said. “His critics say that he is racist and antisemitic, based on some of the language that he’s used.”
Fishback has been vocal about Donalds’ involvement in receiving donations from the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee, also known as AIPAC. He’s criticized Donalds, a Black man, in the past for receiving such donations, calling him “AIPAC Shakur,” and “slave” to the Israeli lobby.
However, Fishback’s own financial legitimacy has been called into question.
As reported by the Miami Herald and Florida Politics, a federal magistrate judge ordered Fishback last year to pay his former employer, hedge fund Greenlight Capital, $229,000 after he admitted to sharing the firm’s confidential portfolio information and misrepresenting his title there to attract investors for his own fund, Azoria Capital.
Broward County cut ties with Fishback in 2022 after a parent alleged he had an inappropriate relationship with a 17-year-old female student who worked for his debate organization, Incubate Debate, according to reports by NBC News. Fishback has denied the allegations, calling them “completely false.”
A heated confrontation depicted in a recent viral video showed Fishback telling a Black man that he “should be lynched” when pressed about these accusations.
In a podcast interview with RiftTV, an independent conservative news outlet, Fishback expressed support for “groypers,” a far-right internet movement backed by white nationalist Nick Fuentes.
“I’ve found the audience of young men who follow and watch Nick Fuentes to be incredibly informed and insightful,” Fishback said. “I probably shouldn’t say this, but I think Nick’s following is actually really impressive.”
He elaborated on his admiration for the streamer in an interview with The Charge.
James Fishback, Florida governor candidate, was invited by UCF’s College Republicans to visit the College of Sciences on Thursday to promote his campaign. Numerous times during his speech, the UCF community in attendance gave Fishback much applause.
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“I’ve never spoken to him, I’ve never met him in my life. I’ve met his supporters, people who watch his show, and I’ve found them to be incredibly respectful, civil, and well-informed,” Fishback said. “The young men and women who watch Nick Fuentes that have come to my events and spoken to me, I found them to be extremely smart.”
Despite lacking experience in holding office and significant fundraising abilities, his controversial nature and economic populism appeal to young white male Republicans.
For some students, the ideological company Fishback keeps, and the controversies that surround him, are easy to look past.
“I don’t pay too much attention to it, so I kind of brush it off,” said Ben Galvez, a sophomore political science major, when asked whether Fishback’s alignment with the Fuentes fanbase would influence his vote.
“But I think what it comes down to is he understands that they’re smart people and that they behave very cordially. He’s met brown supporters, people who aren’t limited to the standard angry white kids you can associate with. He just sees them as people who are also concerned for their country, deep-rooted patriots who want to restore what America was.”