‘Performative political theater’: Nikki Fried pans Ron DeSantis’ State of the State

Conflict for Governor, Commish.

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ fourth State of the State speech was not a hit with a member of the Cabinet looking to take his job later this year.

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried disparaged the Governor’s remarks as “performative political theater” Tuesday, issuing both a statement from her Cabinet office and a pitch from her campaign to supporters just moments after DeSantis wrapped his speech.

“Today, the Governor showed yet again he cares more about performative political theater than about anything Floridians are going through. This Governor couldn’t lead Florida out of a paper bag — let alone a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic — and it shows in the so-called priorities he outlined today, going on an ideological hit parade of fake conservatism purely to benefit his presidential ambitions,” Fried fulminated.

Fried often posits that DeSantis will begin running for President as soon as he is re-elected as Governor, but those statements are normally made during friendly partisan interviews and not from her Cabinet position.

The Commissioner went on to deride DeSantis for various culture war plays.

“He’s consistently attacked educators and our public schools, but the only thing that teachers are ‘smuggling in’ to our underfunded classrooms are school supplies for students. He complained about ‘wokeism’ while emoting dog-whistle cues to his political base,” Fried said. “He declared Florida a ‘free state’ while he signs authoritarian edicts on businesses, schools, and local governments. He bashed the so-called ‘hysterical media’ because they dare expose his dictatorial lack of transparency.”

“The state of our state is perhaps its worst in a generation under Governor DeSantis, and the further out of touch he grows with reality, the more Florida’s systemic cracks of inequality will continue growing into canyons of disparity,” Fried added, citing issues ranging from increases in housing costs to climate change as matters neglected by DeSantis.

Her campaign email was no more complimentary to the Governor, meanwhile.

“And it was just what we expected, team: a whole lot of lies to justify his dangerous authoritarian agenda and promote his 2024 presidential campaign,” Fried said about the Governor’s speech.

“When someone tells you who they are, you believe them. And in his speech, DeSantis told us exactly who he is: a politician who cares more about his ambitions than his constituents, a Governor who puts more effort into fighting a fake culture war than helping Florida families, and a dangerous authoritarian trying to imitate Donald Trump,” Fried added, setting up a call to action for a small dollar donation.