Nikki Fried says Ron DeSantis ‘panicked’ in handling pandemic

Nikki Fried. Image via Twitter.

For a change, Gov. Ron DeSantis wasn’t the subject of an adoring weekend cable news hit. Rather, he was the target.

DeSantis, presiding over a state that is the current epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis, found himself taken to task again by a potential 2022 general election opponent, who charged that he “panicked” while handling the coronavirus.

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried took to MSNBC Sunday night, after yet another record day in COVID-19 daily cases and hospitalizations. She blasted DeSantis again for a “void of leadership,” saying that the Governor “panicked during this pandemic.”

“Unfortunately, this Governor again has been devoid of leadership, he’s gone outside this state consistently fundraising, and he’s really just panicked during this pandemic and has shown no leadership. And unfortunately, he even said last week, ‘we just have to live with this.’ And unfortunately, that is not what the advice is of all of our experts, our scientists, our medical doctors. They’re all saying get the vaccine.”

Fried, when asked if she backed vaccine mandates for public school teachers, a concept floated by American Federation of Teachers head Randi Weingarten., sidestepped the question.

“I stand on showing leadership,” Fried said. “And that’s what I’ve done throughout this entire pandemic.”

Meanwhile, Fried blamed DeSantis for teachers not getting vaccinated on their own.

“And if we had a different conversation from the get-go. Really emphasizing from our elected officials across the state of Florida and specifically our Governor, and trying to really emphasize the importance and the necessity of getting these vaccines. And until such time that the Governor starts to lead again, the people of the state of Florida are going to have to rely on local leadership and their local school boards for leadership on this.”

Fried also suggested using “influencers” to overcome pockets of vaccine hesitancy.

“Going into our rural communities, our minority communities, our socially-disadvantaged communities that are maybe more hesitant to getting the vaccines and using our religious institutions, using influencers, the sports industry, and our different music industry influencers,” Fried said.

Among the topics not brought up: the ongoing back and forth between President Joe Biden and the man he called “Governor who?” last week.

The interview Sunday night came ahead of yet another coronavirus-centric day for Fried, who will Zoom with people affected by the lack of a statewide K-12 mask mandate in the morning and then brief media in the afternoon about the larger virus crisis.

Though DeSantis maintains a massive fundraising advantage over Fried, the incumbent’s failures on virus response have given Fried and Rep. Charlie Crist, the other currently plausible Democratic candidate, platforms. Fried’s campaign valued hers last week as approaching the million-dollar mark in publicity value.

DeSantis is still a strong favorite for reelection, but in the estimation of prediction markets, his COVID-19 response makes investors increasingly apprehensive of late.