21,000 deaths later, do-nothing DeSantis takes a COVID victory lap | Editorial

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/editorials/os-op-ron-desantis-undeserved-covid-victory-lap-20211029-2jp2ykdeofh3xag3ellf27vqo4-story.html

 Florida’s summer of suffering was also a summer of silence for Ron DeSantis.

The governor had nearly nothing to say about his state’s lengthy run as No. 1 in the nation in COVID cases, No. 1 in hospitalizations and No. 1 in deaths.

Instead, the governor held almost daily news conferences intended to burnish his presidential bona fides among the MAGA crowd, and boost his presidential ambitions.

Through it all, the governor pointedly ignored the elephant in the room: That Florida — his state, his responsibility — was the epicenter for a deadly new COVID outbreak caused by the delta variant.

 Florida led the nation in case rates for much of the summer, and our governor was silent. Well, not totally silent. He did rail against mask and vaccine mandates, measures intended to prevent people from falling ill.

 As others have already noted, it’s like a firefighter tossing a bucket of water on a house that’s already been burned to the ground and then declaring victory.

What a fraud. What a phony.

It’s so transparent, but far too many gullible Floridians and complicit politicians are going to buy and echo DeSantis’ savior rubbish. Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez already has.