Ron DeSantis vs. Blue States: Florida Shines in Coronavirus Response Despite Media Scrutiny

Critics accused Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) of bungling his response to the coronavirus pandemic as it descended upon the Sunshine State, but after weeks of scrutiny, the Florida governor’s response is standing as a national model, as the state — which boasts more than 21 million residents — outshines its blue state counterparts.

DeSantis faced mounting pressure from politicians and media pundits, who warned that he waited too long to formally close his state. The governor, recognizing the unique profile of Florida, which varies vastly from region to region, largely allowed localities to determine their course of action.

Critics hit him hard. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) accused President Trump of “conveying an epic level of negligence and incompetence that is costing human lives” and threw DeSantis into the mix.

“And it’s not just Trump,” she said last month. “It is not just Trump. Look at DeSantis in Florida, who’s just calling for lockdowns today and Florida beaches have been packed.”

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While DeSantis formally issued a stay-at-home order on April 1, that order occurred after he had already taken aggressive action against travelers from coronavirus hotspots, such as New Orleans and the New York Tri-State area. He imposed screenings at high traffic airports — which proved to be successful — and checkpoints along the Florida-Georgia border and Florida-Alabama border. He also issued a 14-day quarantine for individuals entering Florida from virus hotspots.

After weeks of intense media scrutiny, Florida is outshining its blue state counterparts as DeSantis’s highly criticized coronavirus response proves to be right.

This becomes even more evident when Florida is compared to a state like New York, whose governor the establishment media have heaped praise upon throughout the pandemic.

Florida — which tends to have an older, more vulnerable population — had 42,038 confirmed cases of the virus and 1,875 related deaths as of Friday morning. That represents a fraction of a percent of the 21 million-plus residents in the state. New York, with a population of over 19 million — over 8 million in New York City alone— has seen an excess of 343,000 confirmed cases of the virus and 22,170 deaths, despite the implementation of draconian lockdown orders.

“You look at some of the most draconian orders that have been issued in some of these states and compare Florida in terms of our hospitalizations per 100,000, in terms of our fatalities per 100,000,” DeSantis said during an April 28 meeting with the president.