Boss Baby star and Democrat Party activist Alec Baldwin attacked Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) as “the new Jim Jones,” comparing the governor to the cult leader, who more than 40 years ago, led the massacre at Jonestown, where more than 900 American transplants committed suicide. It was the largest loss of civilian life in U.S. history until the terror attacks of 9/11.
“DeSantis is the new Jim Jones…” Baldwin wrote, without offering any further explanation.
The Saturday Night Live faux President Trump actor’s tweet was likely a comment on the way in which DeSantis governs Florida, as Baldwin believes in theories including that forgoing masks can lead to death.
Last year, the 30 Rock star proclaimed that those who protest masks due to concerns with their own “freedom” are in essence, “willing to die.”
Last month, Governor DeSantis blasted mask mandates in Florida, and emphasized the importance of personal liberty. “They should not be mandated,” DeSantis said of masks. “No government entity should force you to do that. That is your choice. If that’s something you believe provides you protection, no one is going to say anything to you. But that should not, absolutely not be mandated.”
A month earlier, the Florida governor affirmed his administration would not mandate that schools require children to wear masks when returning for in-person learning in the fall, noting there is “not very much science” behind the practice.
A study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in May suggests there is no clear benefit from school mask mandates, and has many experts questioning the policy.
“To date, there have been no U.S. studies comparing COVID-19 incidence in schools that varied in implementing recommended prevention strategies, including mask requirements and ventilation improvements,” the CDC study said.
In another tweet on Monday, Baldwin called the Florida governor “Dangerous.”
But DeSantis’ record, however, tells a different story, as the governor has made moves to protect elderly residents in the Sunshine State.
“We did an order right at the beginning saying hospitals cannot discharge COVID-positive nursing home residents back to nursing homes,” DeSantis noted earlier this year. “By doing that, we saved hundreds, if not thousands of lives.”
Meanwhile, Democrat governors — such as New York’s Andrew Cuomo, New Jersey’s Phil Murphy, Pennsylvania’s Tom Wolf, California’s Gavin Newsom, and Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer — enacted polices that put coronavirus-positive nursing home patients back into facilities.
Cuomo’s disastrous policies in New York sparked a federal investigation into his administration, which has received a swarm of criticism and allegations of a coverup involving the death count of nursing home residents during the pandemic.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.