With coronavirus cases climbing in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis has dodged mounting pressure to pause the state’s reopening, a position that reflects both the Republican leader’s past defiance in the face of the pandemic and his political positioning.
WashingtonWith coronavirus cases climbing in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis has dodged mounting pressure to pause the state’s reopening, a position that reflects both the Republican leader’s past defiance in the face of the pandemic and his political positioning.
DeSantis’ handling of the coronavirus was once heralded, despite the fact that he closed the state later than most and opened it up earlier than others, drawing scorn from state and national leaders. But after Florida seemingly avoided the worst of the virus, new cases in the state have skyrocketed, with the Florida Department of Health reporting nearly 9,000 new cases on Friday, a figure that dwarfed the state’s previous one-day coronavirus case record and showed the number of new cases more than tripling in just two weeks.
The turn — from coronavirus success story to burgeoning problem state — is the latest chapter in DeSantis’ ongoing fight with the health crisis and puts the governor in a tricky position: His defiance early in the coronavirus fight, in addition to his deference to President Donald Trump — who has denied the worsening situation surrounding the outbreak — makes it difficult for the governor to reverse course.
«What have the results been?» DeSantis, sitting next to Trump, said in late April. «Everyone in the media was saying Florida would be like New York or Italy and that has not happened…. We had a tailored and measured approach that not only helped our numbers be way below what anybody predicted, but also did less damage to our state going forward.»
The response earned plaudits from Trump, who said DeSantis was a «great governor» who «knows exactly what he’s doing» to combat the coronavirus.
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But that initial political position, in the eyes of Republicans in Florida, has now backed the governor into a corner.
«The problem with the way he reacted was he was declaring victory before the game was over,» said a top Republican operative in the state who requested anonymity to speak candidly about the governor’s position. «He kind of backed himself into a corner now.
