Florida Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried (D), who is currently vying for the Democratic nomination to challenge GOP Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) in 2022, was confronted with inconvenient data surrounding the incumbent’s COVID response. Fried’s main line of attack against DeSantis thus far has been pandemic response, but the data, unemployment, and death rate all refute her claims.
Fried was confronted about her assertions during an appearance on CNN, when host Poppy Harlow took her to task.
“The data backs it up,” Harlow said of DeSantis’ COVID policies. “Florida has a 4.8 percent unemployment rate, well below the national average. The per-capita death rate from COVID-19 is 27th, nowhere near the highest. Do you [Fried] think he deserves credit for that?”
Despite the clear data, Fried argued that DeSantis deserves no credit.
“No, I don’t think he deserves credit,” Fried said, arguing that DeSantis employed a “laissez-faire, hands off” approach to pandemic response. She went on to avoid acknowledging the real data that clearly shows that DeSantis’ approach, rather than mass lockdowns, worked.
EMBARRASSING segment for @NikkiFried who says her biggest weakness is not having a national profile like @RonDeSantisFL.
— Joanna Rodriguez (@joannamrod) June 18, 2021
No surprise considering she clearly isn’t ready for prime time.@PoppyHarlowCNN takes her to task on Dem losses in FL statewide races & being wrong on COVID. pic.twitter.com/deS0inQWWJ
DeSantis recently called Fried a "lockdown lobbyist."
“She does nothing, all she does is emote on social media. She’s a lockdown lobbyist. I’ve done more in my first week as governor than she has in her entire time as AG commissioner.”