Florida remains one of the states hardest hit by the virus that's killed more than 600 thousand Americans and upended daily life in the United States for more than a year.
This is in no small part due to the policies of the state's Republican Governor, Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis was a little-known congressman before receiving former President Donald Trump's endorsement for Governor ahead of the 2018 midterms—an endorsement that catapulted him into stardom within the GOP. DeSantis is largely believed to be the frontrunner of the 2024 presidential election if Trump himself declines to run.
DeSantis completely reopened Florida just after the pandemic's first wave. In the face of the deadlier Delta variant, DeSantis has forbid private businesses from requiring their customers to be vaccinated, and he's currently losing court cases over his efforts to ban mask mandates in schools—an effort that numerous school districts in the state have defied.
In a recent press conference, DeSantis claimed not to know why masks—which have proven to reduce transmission of the virus—have become politicized.
Watch below.
Gov. Ron DeSantis: "I don't know why the masks have politics around it."pic.twitter.com/sLrvxdxVJh— The Recount (@The Recount) 1631114421
DeSantis told reporters:
"I don't know why the masks have politics around it. Let the parents make the decision that's best for the kids. If you want the masks, do it. If you don't, don't. That's fine."
As the Governor almost certainly knows by now, masks are most effective at keeping others from spreading the virus, not at blocking them from contracting it. Therefore, the decision of someone not to wear a mask—especially a child under 12 who isn't eligible for vaccination—carries significant risks of ramification for others.
What's more, if DeSantis wants to know why masks have become a political issue in the past year and a half, he need look no further than the man who gave him a career-defining endorsement for Governor.
Former President Trump repeatedly undermined the pleas of his own officials for the public to wear masks, publicly announcing he wouldn't wear one himself. Trump shared sentiments on Twitter falsely claiming that mask mandates were tantamount to "slavery".
Trump constantly ridiculed then-Democratic nominee Joe Biden for publicly wearing a mask, saying of Biden at the pair's first presidential debate:
"I don't wear a mask like him. Every time you see him, he's got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from him and he shows up with the biggest mask I've ever seen."
Given Trump's stratospheric popularity within the Republican party, right-wing media eagerly embraced anti-mask positions, and elected officials like DeSantis leapt at the chance to congeal those positions into policies.
Earlier this year, when DeSantis was spotted at the Super Bowl without a mask, he replied:
"[H]ow the hell am I going to be able to drink a beer with a mask on? Come on. I had to watch the Bucs win."
He's since begun fundraising off merchandise emblazoned with the sentiment.
So when DeSantis claimed not to know how masks became politicized, people were quick to remind him.
Well Ron, this right here is the reason. As soon as Trump said he wouldn't wear one, every rational human knew his cultists would follow and they would be belligerent about it. https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1435624054648606726\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/RfmSLyI4Bt— Mike Broders (@Mike Broders) 1631123388
The last president made it political. I mean. What more else is there to say?https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1435624054648606726\u00a0\u2026— Youtube : It\u2019s Malcolm \ud83c\udfa5\ud83d\udd3a (@Youtube : It\u2019s Malcolm \ud83c\udfa5\ud83d\udd3a) 1631118557
@GovRonDeSantis because you and trump and the gop made it so https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1435624054648606726\u00a0\u2026— A Cupful of Happy (@A Cupful of Happy) 1631124366
They pointed out the Governor's own politicization of masks.
He\u2019s literally selling anti-mask merch https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1435624054648606726\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/r19V9zo49F— Parker Molloy (@Parker Molloy) 1631121352
politician who made the decision to fundraise for his reelection campaign by actively undermining public health measures wonders why public health is getting politicizedhttps://twitter.com/therecount/status/1435624054648606726\u00a0\u2026— P\u00e9 (@P\u00e9) 1631122400
Respectfully sir, you have LITERALLY fundraised off of the issue. \n\nRegardless of whether one believes in mask mandates or where one falls on the issue, his feigned obtuseness of \u201cI don\u2019t know why it\u2019s political\u201d is disingenuous and not helpful.https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1435624054648606726\u00a0\u2026— Sherlock\ud83d\udd75\ufe0f\u200d\u2642\ufe0f (@Sherlock\ud83d\udd75\ufe0f\u200d\u2642\ufe0f) 1631119337
Says the Governor who has politicized mask-wearing and has threatened to defund any school district with a mask mandate.https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1435624054648606726\u00a0\u2026— Ritchie Torres (@Ritchie Torres) 1631115583
Some accused him of playing dumb.
I mean this with all sincerity, America.\nWe have to stop accepting \u201cI\u2019m not evil, I\u2019m just stupid\u201d as an excuse from people in leadership positions.\nEven if @RonDeSantisFL was the nicest guy around, if he doesn\u2019t know why masks have politics around them, he needs to go.https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1435624054648606726\u00a0\u2026— Ignominious chucktodds\ud83d\ude37 (@Ignominious chucktodds\ud83d\ude37) 1631122237
I, too, have been in a coma for 18 monthshttps://twitter.com/therecount/status/1435624054648606726\u00a0\u2026— Dreamweasel (@Dreamweasel) 1631117032
\u201cI don\u2019t know why my political battle against masks has made masks political\u201dhttps://twitter.com/therecount/status/1435624054648606726\u00a0\u2026— thomas rayosun long \ud83d\udef9 (@thomas rayosun long \ud83d\udef9) 1631114984
DeSantis continues to stand firmly against mask mandates.
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