A.G. Gancarski
Florida’s Republican governor struck a confrontational tone with the Joe Biden White House Friday, responding to the President’s Thursday night speech with a hard no against any possible “lockdown” restrictions.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, addressing media in Brevard County, said “lockdown ain’t happening,” offering a curt dismissal of the prospect of restrictions being imposed on the state.
Biden hopes for a return to normalcy by July 4, but said the country “may have to reinstate restrictions” if sufficient progress in fighting the virus isn’t made.
Biden didn’t use the word “lockdown”
Still, DeSantis frames that as an “insane” proposal.
“Biden last night said they may have to impose more lockdown-type policies in the future. I can tell ya: that ain’t happening in Florida. We are not going to let him lockdown Florida,” DeSantis said.
“They talked about restricting travel of Floridians. That’s totally unacceptable. He said that from the beginning,” DeSantis added.
But he wasn’t done.
“To even contemplate doing any kind of lockdown honestly is insane. And so that’s not going to happen in the state of Florida. We like the fact that people are able to work here. We like the fact that we’ve been able to save thousands and thousands of businesses and livelihoods. And we love the fact that parents have the right to send their kids to school in person,” DeSantis said.
“We’re going to continue doing what works, but under no circumstances would we entertain doing anything of the sort,” DeSantis said.
The President expressed a hope that America could “mark independence” from COVID-19 by July 4. DeSantis used that as a jumping off point also.
“You can’t tell people they have to wear a mask for the rest of their life. You have to tell them to get the vaccine and get back to normal. Some of the messaging has been so destructive to get people to do it. Why would they want to do it if there’s no benefit to them?”
“They say ‘Oh you may be able to have a couple family members over for July 4.’ We’ve been doing that for over a year in Florida. I don’t understand some of this messaging,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis made similar points at a later stop in Port Orange.
“There’s no lockdowns in Florida, OK,” the Governor said to cheers.
“There’s some people who do not want this to stop, and I don’t understand. They said it was 15 days to stop the spread, and we’re on day 358 now,” he added.
The Governor, who has referred to Biden as a “lockdowner,” continues to present himself as a contrast to more restrictionist leaders of “lockdown states.”
He has made a habit of one-sided arguments with the Biden White House about various considerations of its strategy, including the aforementioned so-called “travel ban” that DeSantis deemed unconstitutional. The Biden administration said nothing of the sort was actually planned.
22 comments
Frankie M.
March 12, 2021 at 3:15 pm
Ronnie didn’t shut anything down a year ago…why start now? He left the heavy lifting to mayors of Jax, Orlando, Tampa, & Miami. Ronnie also said he wouldn’t accept FEMA death camps in Florida? How’s that working out now?? If it were up to Ronnie he’d be doling out vaccines like Effie Trinket in Hunger Games come December. Ronnie brags about opening schools in August (part time for middle & high schools) but he doesn’t take credit for the state of Florida ranking 14th out of 50 states with covid cases in kids ages 18 and under. Instead he fudges the numbahs by lowering the age to 16 so he can make himself look better. Say what you want about Rebekah Jones but fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me. When does it go from sloppy accounting to a pattern of behavior?
SDN
March 12, 2021 at 8:02 pm
FEMA Death camps? LOL . LSD is a hellaa drug.
Frankie M.
March 15, 2021 at 10:12 am
His words not mine. Look it up. While you’re at it go ahead & lock up your guns & children. Joe’s comin for them next. The NRA told me so it must be true.
Mike K
March 12, 2021 at 8:06 pm
Biden voters should leave Florida and return to New York.
BryanFloGrown
March 13, 2021 at 7:59 pm
Any of y’all that feel Florida isn’t handling this correctly should take yourselves to one of the states that do lockdowns. Stop moving here and then trying to change how things are handled here. We like the way Florida is ran and do not consent to any of y’all’s weird unconstitutional ways. So to put it plainly if you don’t like it LEAVE it’s really that simple.
Frankie M.
March 15, 2021 at 10:13 am
You first. I was born here & I’ll die here. I voted so I can complain as much as I want about the lack of leadership in the governor’s office.
Sonja Fitch
March 12, 2021 at 4:38 pm
Lol. Huffing and puffing Duffus Desantis you so funny. Thank you President Biden for the additional FEMA vaccines spots! Duffus Desantis has been so busy kissing rich white peoples asses he did not even pretend to provide vaccines for black brown white old middle aged Floridians! Vote Democrat up and down ballot for the elections in 2022!
Mike Irvine
March 13, 2021 at 8:10 am
That advice is the worst possible choice. I believe Desantis will make the right choices going forward. Voting Democratic would do more harm than good.
Palmer Tom
March 12, 2021 at 4:42 pm
BIYOA
Michael R Gray
March 12, 2021 at 5:12 pm
All you Biden lovers can kiss it. Go live somewhere else if you want nazi life. this is a free country and we are free people that have the right to think for ourselves. You folks can’t seem to manage your life and must have someone lead you with a leash. Get out of our state.
Rick Caird
March 12, 2021 at 7:36 pm
It would not surprise me the first to guys were not only partisans, but not from the state.
Frankie M.
March 12, 2021 at 7:44 pm
I hear Mexico is nice now that all the Mexicans are here? Lmao
Ann O’Leary
March 13, 2021 at 11:11 am
I have the right to live anywhere l want. You said it yourself, this is a free country.
Spiff The Spaceman
March 12, 2021 at 7:41 pm
The problem with Lockdowns from the beginning is the lack of clarity of what was viewed as success and what risks would be acceptable.
Government has decided that 0 risk will be accepted which is tyranny on its face. Nothing in life has 0 risk.
Humanity has dealt with far worse pandemics and done far less precautionary measures during them. Forcing the healthy to mask, stay home and stop living doesn’t do anything but cause societal chaos.
From the beginning we should have sheltered the vulnerable and let people go about their lives as they saw fit.
Biden’s illegitimate regime just wants to exert power to make his and his party’s Chinese Puppet Masters happy.
Archie
March 12, 2021 at 8:16 pm
Backtalk to Biden is childs play. I’d be more impressed if FL fixed K-12 and college curricula.
Spiff The Spaceman
March 12, 2021 at 9:15 pm
Cases isn’t an important statistic. It is an obfuscation of the Death statistic. However the Death by Corona obfuscates whether a person actually died because of Covid19 or with Covid19 and is treating all deaths where Covid19 is found to be present as a Covid19 death due to changed 2020 reporting requirements by the CDC. Which is why motorcycle deaths and suicides have been counted among the Covid19 death count.
Cases at this point is a meaningless statistic as Covid19 is now endemic to the world population and no longer pandemic. Cases are now expected and cannot be controlled by measures that are not class IV contagion containment level. Covid19 deaths are also meaningless without understanding underlying conditions or the actual cause of death.
Overall what matters now is whether or not the year over year death is higher than normal due to disease and we can clearly see from the Data available it isn’t. The Covid19 crisis is 100% overblown and driven by mass hysteria.
However, lockdown deaths of young Americans is up significantly. Only a heartless bastard would desire to keep healthy people locked up in perpetuity.
Frankie M.
March 15, 2021 at 10:18 am
I agree that statistics are meaningless at this point. Ronnie has done such a good job of obfuscating the real numbahs that we will never know what they really are so it’s a moot point. We’ve seen what happens to whistleblowers that point this out. Their character is disparaged and they are labeled insubordinate. So much for guvmint in the sunshine.
trump lost
March 13, 2021 at 9:22 am
The cost of Desantis’ concept of freedom: 32,411 lives (currently)
We can feed the people. We can ensure employment. We can guarantee our children are educated. We can rebuild the economy. We are that capable.
We can’t bring back those we lost.
It seems the definition of insanity has become subjective.
BryanFloGrown
March 13, 2021 at 8:04 pm
Are you completely slow.????
I really get a kick out of you Libs….. Maybe the truth is you just don’t want to work…. Maybe you just need an excuse to be lazy… Whatever it is you definitely should not live here. I’m sure your one of them people that drive right at or under the speed limit causing our friggin traffic jams as well. If this is truly how you feel just contact u-haul or pods and then get in your Prius and hit 95 or 75 north until you end up in a shutdown state. We all here will get through this and move on with our lives thanks…..
Kim Cohen
March 13, 2021 at 1:34 pm
Yeah, you do have the right to LIVE anywhere you want. Then LIVE and LET LIVE. Don’t move here and then try to have us forced on lockdown. If you want to be in lockdown,.. well that isn’t LIVING…so go EXIST in lockdown somewhere else!
C W
March 15, 2021 at 7:54 am
Cancer treatment completed 2020, 74 yrs old and I stayed home and got my shots. Risks are lower and every situation is different but why ruin working people’s/students’ lives and the economy to protect me?
Comments are closed.