Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took a swing at Republican primary frontrunner Donald Trump Thursday, saying the 45th president “turned the country over” to Dr. Anthony Fauci during the COVID-19 pandemic and “destroyed millions of people’s lives” as a result.
“I think he did great for three years, but when he turned the country over to Fauci in March of 2020, that destroyed millions of people’s lives,” the 44-year-old DeSantis told radio host Glenn Beck, referring to the longtime National Institutes of Health official and former chief medical adviser to President Biden.
“And in Florida, we were one of the few that stood up, cut against the grain, took incoming fire from media, bureaucracy, the left, even a lot of Republicans, had schools open, preserved businesses.
“And so Florida, since COVID, has outperformed virtually any state in the country, when you look at all these significant metrics, I mean, we’re booming,” the governor went on. “We’ve got people moving in here. Wealth is coming in here.
“And so I think when people look back — that 2020 year was not a good year for the country as a whole. It was a situation where Florida started to stand alone. So I think that that’s important contrast.” --->READ MORE HERE
 |
| AP Photo/Michael Conroy/Alex Brandon |
Former President Trump says “even” former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) handled the coronavirus pandemic better than Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), his latest attack coming the day after DeSantis officially joined the 2024 GOP presidential primary.
Trump said in a video from his campaign Thursday that Florida had among the highest number of deaths from COVID-19 in the country and shut down numerous public locations at the onset of the pandemic, including beaches.
“How about the fact that he had the third-most deaths of any state… Even Cuomo did better. He was No. 4,” Trump said.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that Florida had the third-highest number of COVID-19-related deaths in 2021, while New York had the fourth-most. But the data also shows Florida had the 18th-highest death rate per 100,000 residents that year.
Trump has previously attacked DeSantis over his record handling the pandemic, claiming that he shut down his state while other Republican governors did not.
DeSantis first issued an order encouraging people to remain at home and shutting down all but essential businesses on April 1, 2020, later than most other governors. He announced toward the end of the month that the state would begin lifting the lockdown order and ended it entirely by that September. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:
How did COVID-19 lockdown impact employment of individuals with visual disabilities?
What is ‘Disease X’? COVID experts warn it could cause deadlier pandemic
USA TODAY: Coronavirus Updates
WSJ: Coronavirus Live Updates
YAHOO NEWS: Coronavirus Live Updates
NEW YORK POST: Coronavirus The Latest
If you like what you see, please "Like" and/or Follow us on FACEBOOK here, GETTR here, and TWITTER here.
No comments:
Post a Comment