FORT LAUDERDALE, FL—After slamming Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for "letting Minneapolis burn" during the 2020 George Floyd protests, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is traveling down a new avenue to bludgeon the Democrat pick for Vice President: his "snitch hotline" for Covid outlaws and his christening of Minnesota as a "sanctuary state" for transgender minors.
"[Walz] has this line in the stump speech saying, you know, our neighbors can do what they want, mind your own damn business. Fine. Then why did you set up a snitch hotline for neighbors to report their neighbors for violating your draconian Covid restrictions?" DeSantis questioned at a Fort Lauderdale press conference, twisting the Minnesota Governor's viral line into a swipe at Walz's pandemic hotline, which was used to report on the flagrant flouters of social distancing guidelines.
"That's not minding your own damn business. That's government overreach," DeSantis added, echoing the new "overreach" buzzword Republicans are weaponizing against Walz.
He turned to one of his biggest talking points, parents' rights, as he drew a stark contrast between Florida and Minnesota in terms of transgender minors. He blasted Walz for signing a 2023 law granting legal protection to children who come to Minnesota seeking transgender surgeries, therapies, or medications, when that same year, Florida passed a law banning the practices for minors.
"They actually have a policy where they're a sanctuary state for gender surgery for minors, so you can have a kid go with no parent consent to Minnesota and get this stuff done. And I'm just thinking like, how is that standing for parents' rights?" DeSantis questioned.
DeSantis then took aim at Minnesota's net in-migration compared to Florida's, blaming Walz for his state's negative in-migration status. According to U.S News and World Report, the Sunshine State is ranked number two compared to Minnesota's number 41 placement for highest in-migration.
"I always ask people, when they tell me they moved [from Minnesota to Florida], I said, are you glad you did? And they say they are so that's that."
