On Tuesday (May 30), Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) hit back at former President Donald Trump’s jab at his handling of the response to COVID-19, highlighting that the former President’s “whole family” moved to Florida under his governorship.
When asked about Trump’s latest comments, DeSantis to News Nation’s Kellie Meyer at a press conference that the former President’s comments were “new,” highlighting that “six months ago,” Trump wouldn’t have made those remarks because he was raving about “how great Florida was.”
DeSantis noted that Trump’s “whole family moved to Florida” while he was the Sunshine State’s Governor.
DeSantis’s comments reference Trump’s remarks on Truth Social on Tuesday, where the former President pointed out that the state had the third-highest COVID-19 deaths in 2021.
Trump questioned why people said, “that DeSanctus did a good job?”
The former President highlighted that “New York had fewer deaths!” adding that DeSantis had “shut down the State and even its beaches (unlike other Republican governors).”
However, Trump’s comments don’t consider that Florida is also the third largest state in the country and sits in the middle when the number of COVID-19 deaths is scaled by 100,000 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
DeSantis also suggested that Trump should focus on President Biden rather than the Florida Governor.
DeSantis stated, “I am going to focus my fire on Biden, and I think he should do the same. [Trump] gives Biden a free pass.”
“I am focusing on Biden. That’s my focus,” DeSantis declared.
