Two Florida guys named ’Carlos’ add up to one big ’Whoopsie-daisy!’ on Fox News | Opinion

Oh, America, the battle for Florida’s political soul requires a higher level of comfort with español and Spanish names than you might think.

Look what happened to Fox News this week.

In the mix, two prominent Hispanics in politics named Carlos, a divided Florida, and Fox News. What could go wrong? Well, a drop down list of names for a graphics-maker to choose from ends in a hilarious case of mistaken identity.

This is what viewers saw:

Here was Congressman Carlos Gimenez, a Miami Republican and former county mayor, making a Fox & Friends First appearance to talk about Putin, Biden and the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Gimenez, a newbie representative whose star has been rising if gigs at Fox are a measure of GOP influence, sits on the House Homeland Security Committee.

But the identification tag underneath the talking congressman read: “Carlos Guillermo Smith (D) Florida State Representative.”

Who’s the other Carlos?

Smith couldn’t be farther from Gimenez on the political spectrum.

Florida’s first open and proud LGBTQ Latino legislator — a Florida-born, half-Peruvian, half-French Canadian married to a Puerto Rican who represents part of Orange County — is a progressive who will tell you that on all issues — from the need for higher wages and affordable housing to COVID accountability — he stands “with the people.”

So much so that he’s suing Gov. Ron DeSantis over the lack of transparency on COVID-19 data, which he believes is “prolonging the pandemic and the pain and suffering of Floridians.”

And then there’s Gimenez, who, basking in his newfound alliance with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, can’t find anything to like about President Biden. This, despite getting a coveted invite to the White House to discuss infrastructure. He voted against the bill without regard to what it represents to Miami-Dade and other Florida counties in desperate need.

“I believe in creating jobs and bringing billions of dollars in infrastructure to expand our roads and build public transit in Florida,” Smith said. “Congressman Carlos voted against the infrastructure plan in Congress.”

No, GOP-smooching Fox News isn’t likely to invite The Other Carlos any time soon.

“This Carlos supports our democracy for all,” said Smith. “Congressman Carlos voted with the insurrectionists to overthrow our democracy. I fought for voting rights [in Florida].”

So imagine what a shocker it was for Miami Republicans accustomed to being fed what they want to hear, watching the clip with Smith’s name on it, a replay of a longer appearance by Gimenez.

They got a — what-the-heck? — jolt and called the congressman’s Washington office.

On his end, Smith learned of his unintended appearance via a humorous text with a screenshot, not from a fellow Democrat, but from a Republican colleague in the Florida Legislature. Good to know that at least some lawmakers are still capable of engaging in bipartisan rapport.

And he took to Twitter to set the record straight.

‘I’m the real CGS’

And why not?

Gimenez is a conservative Cuban American these days, but in 2016, when it was convenient for reelection purposes in a Democratic-majority county, supported Hillary Clinton.

“For those wondering, NO. NO. That was not me on @FoxNews,” Smith tweeted. “NO. I DID NOT vote to overturn @JoeBiden’s election. I’m the real CGS. I’m a Democrat who defends our democracy and fights for freedom and equality for all! I’m definitely not @CarlosGimenezFL.”

Retweeted Ana Ceballos, state government reporter for the Miami Herald: “Whoopsie-daisy.”

A mistake, the kind all of us humans make, said a source who explained off the record how the mislabeling happened.

The full 5:30 a.m. interview ran correctly labeled.

But when it was edited down to replay throughout the day and a new graphic was made, a drop down alphabetical menu appeared with a list of names. The employee hit the first “Carlos G,” which turned out to be Carlos Guillermo Smith.

“A matter of a clicked wrong button,” he said.

Some, including Gimenez’s staff, say the mistake is much ado about nothing. It was brought to Fox’s attention and immediately corrected.

“Of all the times the interview was aired throughout the day, this honest mistake happened once and was rectified immediately,” Gimenez said in a statement sent to me via his spokesman. “Mistakes happen.”

Okay, I get the point.

But non-Hispanics confusing Hispanics — the largest minority group in the United States — and putting us in one big labeled pot, as the U.S. government does, is far too common to be simple accidents.

“It is frustrating because oftentimes the media, and especially Fox News, tends to put all Hispanics in one category and we know our community is not a monolith,” Smith tells me.

That monolith mentality keeps us — and has kept us Latinos, Latinx, Hispanics, whatever you want to call us — for far too long in this country, invisible and misunderstood.

The two-Carloses episode is proof.

But, hey, thanks for the laugh, Fox!