Analysis: Ron DeSantis’ reaction to the surge in Covid cases is purely political
Which runs directly counter to guidance provided by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month.
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The disconnect between the worsening Covid-19 situation in Florida and DeSantis’ focus on ensuring that kids don’t have to wear masks when they go back to school is explained — and this will come as a surprise to exactly no one — by politics.
His “Covid? What Covid?” mindset was in line with the strategy employed by his mentor –Donald Trump. And like they did for Trump, the base of the Republican Party rallied around DeSantis — suggesting that he was holding the line against political correctness and further impingement on their freedoms.
For a very long time, DeSantis was riding high. Despite the elderly population of Florida — and his lax focus on mitigation measures to slow the spread of Covid-19 — Florida managed to avoid ever being at the center of a massive outbreak.
Which was taken by some as proof-positive that Democratic governors and even some Republicans were badly overreacting to both the threat Covid-19 posed to the public and the need to radically alter peoples’ lives to keep it from spreading.
And because he doesn’t want to risk the support among the Republican base should he decide to run for president in 2024, DeSantis is simply refusing to address the surge in any meaningful way.
“According to his daily schedule this past week, DeSantis did not hold any public events whose main topic was the summer surge.
“DeSantis held two events about the dangers of mandating masks in schools. In between, he traveled to Utah to speak at the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council conference. Throughout the week, Florida’s governor criticized the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for its recommendation that vaccinated people wear masks inside in some situations.”
To date, Covid-19 deaths have not surged in Florida. Which is a very good thing. But there’s no question that the situation in the state has taken a turn for the worse in recent weeks. And yet, DeSantis’ behavior hasn’t changed one bit.
This is what it looks like when politics (and future political ambition) crash directly into the practical realities of governing a state as large and influential nationally as Florida. It’s not a pretty sight.
