Florida Congressman Byron Donalds endured not one, but two public humiliations in a single day after social media roasted him over a misspelled word on a literacy campaign sign and a rival gubernatorial candidate confronted him outside a campaign event with a megaphone.

Donalds, who is running to replace Gov. Ron DeSantis, first found himself at the center of an online pile-on after launching a reading initiative while standing in front of a sign that misspelled the word “achievability.”

Hours later, things got even more awkward.

U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) talks to reporters as he leaves the U.S. Capitol on November 14, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Republican gubernatorial candidate James Fishback showed up outside one of Donalds’ campaign stops in Lake City on Saturday and loudly heckled the Trump-backed congressman as he arrived for an event.

“Hey Byron! Remember me? You called me a racist, remember that?” Fishback shouted through a megaphone while livestreaming the confrontation on social media.

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“DEI hire, didn’t earn it, Byron,” he added.

Video showed Donalds walking past Fishback and a crowd of supporters without responding. The congressman smiled as the group continued yelling.

The confrontation happened during Donalds’ third campaign stop of the day after earlier appearances in Jacksonville and Lake Butler.

Reading Initiative Backfires

The rough day began when Donalds posted about his new “Read to Succeed” initiative on Instagram.

Unfortunately for the congressman, observers quickly noticed that the sign behind him read “Achieveability” instead of “Achievability.”

The irony was impossible for critics to ignore.

In the post, Donalds warned that “44% of Florida students are not reading at grade level” and promised to fix the problem if elected governor.

“My Read To Succeed plan will equip teachers with the tools they need, establish indicators to identify and help struggling students early, and provide more access to extra tutoring,” Donalds wrote.

“The next generation is depending on us. We must deliver.”

Social media users immediately seized on the spelling mistake.

“Such an embarrassing candidate for the Republican Party to try and be Governor of Florida,” one X user wrote. Another asked, “Is his staff just stupid, or do they hate him? Would we know the difference?”

Others simply marveled that a literacy campaign managed to become a spelling controversy.

“Can’t make this up,” one commenter wrote.

GOP Rivals Turn Up the Heat

If the spelling error was embarrassing, the confrontation in Lake City suggested Donalds’ Republican rivals have no intention of letting up.

Fishback is among several Republicans demanding that Donalds participate in a gubernatorial debate. DeSantis and Lt. Gov. Jay Collins have also criticized the congressman for skipping a proposed showdown ahead of next month’s Republican Party of Florida event.

The controversy stems from the so-called “Sunshine State Showdown,” which the Republican Party of Florida describes as the kickoff of the 2026 statewide Republican debate season.

However, party officials later confirmed that no actual gubernatorial debate would take place because Donalds was the only candidate who qualified for the event.

Fishback, who was originally invited, was later uninvited after pressure from Congressman Randy Fine.

The candidate has become a polarizing figure within Republican circles. Some GOP leaders have accused him of antisemitism, while others criticized him after he referred to Donalds as a “slave” for accepting support from pro-Israel political action committees.

Fishback, Collins and DeSantis have all accused Florida Republican leaders of trying to tilt the race in Donalds’ favor.

That criticism followed Donalds all the way to Lake City, where Fishback and his supporters waited outside with cameras rolling and megaphones in hand.

Social Media Says the Jokes Are Writing Themselves

Meanwhile, social media users were still busy mocking the literacy campaign mishap.

Donalds has made education a centerpiece of his gubernatorial campaign, arguing that Florida must improve third-grade reading proficiency through tutoring, teacher training and early intervention.

“When children learn to read by third grade, you’ve opened every door ahead of them,” Donalds said in announcing the initiative.

But many online observers never made it past the misspelled word.

“The jokes just write themselves with these fools,” one X user wrote.

‘His Staff Must Hate Him!’: Byron Donalds Gets Roasted Over Campaign Spelling Blunder, Then Walks Straight Into a Public Humiliation Waiting Outside