Trump and DeSantis fight over pandemic strategies

Reporter: Claire Galt Writer: Rachel Murphy
Published: Updated:
FILE – This combination of photos shows Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaking on April 21, 2023, in Oxon Hill, Md., left, and former President Donald Trump speaking on March 4, 2023, at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md. A Florida ethics board has dismissed a complaint that allies of Trump filed against DeSantis, finding no legal basis for allegations that the governor violated campaign finance laws with a “shadow” run for the White House. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Former president Donald Trump is attacking Gov. Ron DeSantis on how he handled the pandemic.

Now the race is on to prove who handled the coronavirus better.

“Governor Ron DeSantis shut down business during COVID. Drove away tourism. Passed a mandate to keep Floridians from leaving their homes. Lockdown Ron. He failed Florida: don’t let him fail America,” one Trump ad said.

DeSantis addressed Trump’s claims on Thursday, “You are revealing yourself to just be full of it.”

“He will make allusions to Trump but he but he won’t call his name. I mean, it is patently obvious. He’s talking about Trump, but he’s doing everything he can do. Play it safe,” Edwin Benton said.

The USF political professor saw DeSantis’ pushback as a surprise.

“That was maybe just one step too many for him to not actually get angry and just attack and say, ‘Look, yeah, Trump’s full of it,'” Aubrey Jewett said.

The UCF political scientist thinks this marks a change in the governor’s strategy.

“DeSantis really came to national prominence, largely because of his COVID-19 response,” Jewett said.

Kevin Wagner, an FAU political analyst, told WINK News that DeSantis and all of the GOP candidates may be better off leaving Trump alone.

“Whoever is going to win this for the Republican side, is going to have to win a lot of voters who support it or continue to support the former president,” Wagner said.

While the time frames may have been different, Trump and DeSantis had similar approaches during the pandemic.

Both were in favor of lockdowns in the beginning, then turned against them.

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