As the fall and winter months draw nearer, there is rising speculation that COVID-19 (and its mandates) will be returning with it. After telling audience members of “The View” that Whoopi Goldberg had COVID, Co-host Joy Behar warned, “Yes, it’s back, it’s back.” However, in a statement on his personal X account, Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) reassured Floridians – and Americans should he be elected President – that there will be consequences for those in government that imposed draconian-style COVID mandates on its citizens.
Referencing a Fox News article sharing news surrounding a Maryland public school requiring some students to wear masks yet again, Gov. DeSantis stated that there will be a “reckoning for the harm they’ve done.”
They want to muzzle your children. Those mandates are DOA in the state of Florida because we’ve enacted protections for parents and children.
When I'm President, there will be a reckoning for the harm they've done to kids in pursuit of a political agenda.https://t.co/nJRgpx1A8Z
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) September 6, 2023
“They want to muzzle your children. Those mandates are DOA (dead on arrival) in the state of Florida because we’ve enacted protections for parents and children. When I’m President, there will be a reckoning for the harm they’ve done to kids in pursuit of a political agenda,” said Gov. DeSantis.
Moreover, after Dr. Anthony Fauci reemerged into the public sphere to promote the usage of masks and defend the closure of public schools, DeSantis immediately countered, saying that “we can never let what Fauci did to this country happen again.”
Additionally, DeSantis said one of the problems during COVID was local and state health departments relying on "flawed guidance" from organizations like the CDC.
"In the State of Florida we want to be a buffer against flawed guidance," said DeSantis. "I think they are really looking to institutionalize lockdown policies, and that will not happen here."
In August, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo suggested people not comply with mask directives.
"What do you call re-imposing mask policies that have been proven ineffective or restarting lockdowns that are known to cause harm?" posted Ladapo. "You don't call it sanity. These terrible policies only work with your cooperation. How about refusing to participate…"
In May, the DeSantis administration claimed Florida to be “The medical freedom state” after passing legislation to ban gain of function research, protect citizens from discrimination based on healthcare choices, and prohibit businesses and government entities from requiring proof of vaccination.
