A.G. Gancarski
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott continues to sidestep questions about the tension between Gov. Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump.
During an interview on WMAL’s morning talk show O’Connor and Company, Scott sidestepped a question about a Trump Truth Social post that said Florida was “great” even before DeSantis was elected Governor in 2018.
“Well, first off, I’m glad the state is continuing to keep taxes low. People are still moving the state. It’s got a great education system,” Scott contended.
He then pivoted to familiar talking points about his time as Governor, avoiding a direct answer to the question.
“Here’s what I had the opportunity to do. I came in and I ran on a campaign to get our state back to work. The state lost 832,000 jobs between 2007 and 2010. Home prices had dropped in half. We had almost a million people on unemployment. That all happened under Charlie Crist,” Scott said.
The former Governor recycled a familiar quip about the party-shifting politician from St. Petersburg.
“You heard about the Republican, the Democrat, and the independent that walked into the bar,” Scott said, quoting the bartender as saying “Hey, hi Charlie.”
“But anyway, I was a business guy, never run for office before. I ran on a platform to get our state back to work and it worked,” Scott said.
He then took credit for creating 1.7 million jobs during his tenure.
“We got out of the way and let the private sector do it. We became No. 1 in higher education, (and achieved a) 47-year low in the crime rate. Because what we did is we made government more efficient. I went through every line in the budget every year; if it didn’t hit its purpose, I vetoed the money the next year,” Scott argued.
“I mean, it’s basic stuff that you do with your own money. And so, we just made it a great place to live, work and play.”
Trump had invoked the names of Scott and Crist in a post to his social media platform last month discrediting DeSantis.
“Florida was doing GREAT long before Ron DeSanctus got there. People are fleeing from New York to Florida (and other places) because of high TAXES and out-of-control CRIME, not because of Governor (thank you President Trump!) DeSanctimonious. Rick Scott did great, and even Charlie Crist had very good numbers. SUNSHINE AND OCEAN, very alluring!!!”
But clearly, Scott does not see himself as a continuation of Crist’s policies, unsurprising for those who have followed his entire political career.
