“Deep blue jurisdictions” are going back to “restrictions and mandates,” Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said on Tuesday, mentioning Philadelphia’s decision to bring back an indoor mask requirement and making it clear “no Floridian will be restricted mandated or lockdown in any possible way” as long as he remains governor.
“How does it feel to read about that news knowing that the administration has been so critical of your approach to the pandemic,” one reporter asked DeSantis in the wake of Philadelphia announcing the reinstitution of its mask mandate, which it lifted less than two months ago.
“So just let me say it very clearly to all Floridians, you just saw Philadelphia impose an indoor mandate,” DeSantis began. “You’re gonna have potentially some of these other deep blue jurisdictions go back to restrictions and mandates.”
“You look what’s happening in Shanghai, they have everybody under a brutal lockdown,” he continued, making it clear that “as long as I sit in the chair in which I sit, no Floridian will be restricted, mandated or lockdown in any possible way.”
DeSantis noted the lockdown politicians and media outlets that supported mandates and restrictions, all of whom “criticized Florida mercilessly.”
“And then the first chance they get to get out from under the yoke of those bad policies, you see them in Miami or Palm Beach or all these other places,” he said. “And if I had a dollar for every lockdown politician that escaped their own policies to come to our free state, I would be set for life. That’s just a fact.”
Their behavior, DeSantis continued, showed that their policies were never meaningful or effective in the first place.
“The issue is, is if they thought their policies really were necessary and these mitigations really were effective, they would be abiding by it. They’re not abiding by it because they know it’s all about politics and control,” he said.
“So that’s why they don’t wear the mask. That’s why they don’t do all this stuff. Because they know it is COVID theater, and so we don’t have any tolerance for COVID theater in the state of Florida,” the governor added, reminding the media that the Sunshine State is prospering as a “Free State.”
“They know that they can come here and make their own decisions. They know they’re not going to be harassed to show medical papers to go have a hamburger somewhere. They know they’re going to be able to enjoy life, and so we are never gonna waiver for that,” DeSantis promised.
WATCH:
A Committee to Unleash Prosperity (CUP) study released this week revealed that Florida is among a handful of states that scored an A rating in its handling of the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, while states such as California and New York — lauded by the establishment media — landed in the F category.
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