Florida gubernatorial candidate slams DeSantis for 'playing Russian roulette' with Floridians
On CNN’s Don Lemon Tonight Wednesday, Florida congressman Charlie Crist gave his take on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and the fiery press conference he held on Wednesday in response to President Biden’s recent criticism of some GOP governors' handling of COVID. After playing a clip of the end of the press conference, in which DeSantis abruptly shuts his notebook and leaves, Lemon asked Crist what his reaction was.
“That's pretty immature. And extremely defensive,” Crist said. “President Biden is giving good, solid leadership on this issue that is really focused on the safety of our children, and our families, and our nation. Governor DeSantis's reaction to that is to be dismissive, because he's chosen to be playing Russian roulette with my fellow Floridians, which is a disaster.”
And Crist thinks there’s only one real reason why DeSantis is busy politicizing COVID instead of trying to slow it down.
“The man is so, unfortunately, politically motivated toward the White House in 2024, and capturing that base, that he's forgetting Floridians who want their kids to be safe. Because they're reasonable people with common sense,” Crist said.
Florida is among the states with the highest number of new COVID cases and has more hospitalizations than at any point during the pandemic, including a rise among children. Meanwhile, DeSantis recently issued an executive order blocking mask mandates in the state’s schools.
And Crist, who is also a candidate for governor, said his state needs a governor who can lean on medical professionals and not be “too arrogant” to take their advice. And say things like wearing a mask matters.
“We need to have a governor who says getting a vaccine, getting it now, getting it as quickly as you can is the most important thing you can do,” Crist said. “We also need a governor, in Governor DeSantis, to say wearing a mask is a smart thing to do, and not signing executive orders banning it.”
Don Lemon Tonight airs weeknights at 10 p.m. on CNN.
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