Ron DeSantis Slaps Down Charlie Crist’s Charge of Being the Most ‘Anti-Business’ Governor

Florida's Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, left, speaks during a debate with his Democratic o
Crystal Vander Weit/TCPalm.com via AP, Pool

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) slapped down challenger Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL) during Monday evening’s debate after the Democrat bizarrely deemed DeSantis the “most anti-business governor” he has ever seen.

Speaking on the topic of the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, DeSantis made it clear to Floridians that Crist “called for harsh lockdowns in July of 2020.”

“And if that had happened in this state, it would have destroyed the state of Florida. Our hospitality and tourism industry, which is thriving, would have gone into disrepair. It would have thrown millions of Floridians into turmoil. And I can tell you, as Charlie Crist and his friends in Congress were urging you to be locked down, I lifted you up. I protected your rights,” DeSantis said, drawing a stark contrast between his leadership style and Crist’s.

“I made sure you can earn a living. I made sure you could operate your businesses, and I worked like heck to make sure we had all our kids in school … five days a week,” he continued.

Crist then attempted to describe himself as a “pro-business” politician, ironically while defending his lockdown approach to the Chinese coronavirus.

“I’m pro-business. I want to make sure we keep our businesses open,” he said, attacking DeSantis how the governor held woke Disney accountable.

“I’m not the governor who attacked industry because they just wanted to make sure that their customers weren’t sick before they got on the boat. That’s you,” he said, calling DeSantis the most “anti-business governor I’ve ever seen” — a laughable assertion to the governor, who offered a quick retort.

“Yeah, except for all the businesses that are moving down here and leading the nation in net in migration,” DeSantis said, not even mentioning the fact that the state saw the highest level of domestic visitation in state history in 2021.

DeSantis’s remarks also come on the latest economic news on the state, which continues to outperform the nation:

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