Ariana Baio
Jan 31, 2023
content.jwplatform.com
Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump may seem extremely similar as the two are frontrunners for the 2024 election but the two have been having public disagreements recently.
From making digs about DeSantis, 44, on Truth Social to criticising him in interviews, Trump, 76, is trying to downplay DeSantis' political impact.
Although DeSantis has held back, he's now returned the jab by making a subtle hit at Trump, and his 2020 defeat.
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During a press conference for Florida’s Higher Education Reform on Tuesday, DeSantis addressed criticism he received from the public for Florida’s response to the pandemic.
“I roll out of bed, I have people attacking me from all angles it’s been happening for many many years,” the Florida Governor joked.
DeSantis' comment seems to be a response to Trump accusing him of taking too liberal of an approach to Covid-19 response in Florida.
Trump claims DeSantis should have opened up Florida sooner and accused him of "trying to rewrite history."
While Florida shut down along with other states - it rapidly re-opened, even as Trump was criticising governors like Georgia's Brian Kemp for re-opening quickly.
“If you take a crisis situation like Covid the good thing about it is when you’re an elected executive you have to make all kinds of decisions you gotta steer that ship,” DeSantis said in the press conference.
“People are able to render a judgment on that whether they re-elect you or not and I’m happy to say in my case not only did we win re-election we won with the highest percentage of the vote that any Republican governor candidate has in the history of the state of Florida,” he added.
\u201cWow! DeSantis fires back at Trump.\n\n"If you take a crisis situation like Covid...when you're an elected executive, you have to make all kinds of decisions...the people are able to render a judgement on that, whether they reelect you or not...I'm happy to say in my case... we won"\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1675180496
DeSantis received public backlash in 2020 and 2021 for taking a more lax approach to mask mandates, vaccine requirements, and business closures.
Trump also criticised "gutless" politicians who refused to disclose whether or not they received the Covid-19 booster in July. DeSantis was among those who did not blatantly reveal if he had received a booster shot.
But DeSantis has stood by his decision-making and it seems to have paid off as he won his midterm election with the highest percentage of votes of any Republican gubernatorial candidate in the history of the state of Florida.
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