Governor. Ron DeSantis's (R-Fla) war room called out former President Trump's claims that Florida locked down during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During an interview with Fox News this week, Trump defended his lockdown orders while falsely claiming Florida tightly shut down the state.
"I gave the governors the options. For instance, Henry McMaster of South Carolina governor a great guy and a great governor. He didn't shut it down. Tennessee didn't shut it down. South Dakota didn't shut it down. Georgia shut it down for a little while but not much. They did a good job. Six states didn't shut down. I gave—it's a federalist system. I told all governors you do what you want. You can shut it down or not. Florida, by the way, shut it down tight. No highways and no beaches. No, this—" Trump stated.
TRUMP shakes his head and says “no” he doesn’t have regrets over how he handled COVID.
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) June 20, 2023
Trump shut down the country and has zero regrets. pic.twitter.com/bJSYknrQXY
In response, DeSantis's team echoed Trump's claims in a video that got community noted by Twitter because the former president's remarks were false.
Lockdown Ron DeSantis shut Florida down during the pandemic, much more so than other states. Now he’s trying to gaslight the American people into thinking otherwise.
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) June 20, 2023
He’s a liar and a fraud who can’t be trusted. pic.twitter.com/RV6DrR96vM
The DeSantis war room quickly pointed out that Trump has praised the governor several times for keeping Florida open during COVID, despite saying other wise.
You’re embarrassing yourselves.
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) June 20, 2023
Here’s Donald Trump repeatedly praising @RonDeSantis for keeping Florida OPEN and FREE. https://t.co/Sk4dmNFacR pic.twitter.com/3ylfizGTeT
In 2020, DeSantis rejected the Trump White House orders to "reestablish strong mitigation statewide." They allowed outdoor recreational activities, including at the beach, and worship services under "essential activities."
Despite Trump claiming DeSantis locked the sunshine state down, the Florida governor repeatedly pledged there would be no lockdowns throughout 2020 and 2021.
At the height of the corrupt China virus, more and more people fled authoritarian states and moved to Florida, where residents were free to live before the Covid outbreak-- proving DeSantis governed a free state compared to many other U.S. states who were under a Draconian dictatorship such as New York and California.