Another prominent conservative has joined the chorus criticizing the selection of Santa Ono as the University of Florida’s next president.
This time, it’s Donald Trump Jr.
On Wednesday, Trump called Ono a “woke psycho” in a post on X that urged the Florida Board of Governors to vote against his appointment at their next meeting on Tuesday.
Ono currently serves as UF’s president-elect, pending approval from the Board of Governors — Ono’s final hurdle to clinch UF’s presidency.
The 17-member board, which oversees the state university system, has never refused a presidential appointment since its creation in 2003.
Ono’s past support for diversity initiatives and climate action has drawn fire from conservative figures, including New College trustee and activist Christopher Rufo, who labeled Ono “a left-wing administrator” and said, “Florida deserves better than a standard-issue college president.”
Rufo escalated his attack in a Wednesday X post that Trump Jr. retweeted, asserting that the Board of Governors must reject Ono “and his left-wing radicalism” if it wants Florida to remain “the place where woke goes to die.”
U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, an early favorite in next year’s Florida governor’s race, has called Ono unfit to lead the state’s top public university and urged the search committee to start over during an appearance on Fox News.
Facing growing conservative pushback, Ono distanced himself from earlier remarks on climate change and initiatives promoting diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, during an interview with UF’s board of trustees on Tuesday.
“The fact is that some of my past remarks on DEI do not reflect how I think today,” he told the trustees. “As I have said publicly and unequivocally: DEI will not return to the University of Florida during my presidency.”
On climate change the former president of the University of Michigan promised “institutional neutrality,” pledging not to “promote personal beliefs on politically or socially contested issues —including climate change,” he said.
UF’s board of trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to approve his appointment as president.
UF spokesperson Steve Orlando declined to comment on Trump’s tweet or its impact on the school’s support of Ono.
If approved, Ono’s starting salary will be $1.5 million — the highest in the state university system and roughly 50% more than the next highest paid university president.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, meanwhile, has been silent as surrogates for President Donald Trump, such as Don Jr. and Donalds, have piled on Ono.
It’s an awkward moment for the governor, who was an early champion of Rufo and appointed him to the New College board of trustees.
If Rufo succeeds in convincing the Board of Governors to vote against Ono, it would be the second time that a DeSantis-backed leader of Florida’s flagship university would abruptly, and unceremoniously, depart. Last year, former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse resigned the UF presidency amid questions about his administration’s spending and a frosty relationship with the school’s board of trustees.