Gov. DeSantis Embarrasses Himself While Trying To Appeal To His Base
[guest post by Dana]
Watching a sitting governor bully kids is not only aggravating, it’s embarrassing as well. You are the adult, for god sake, so freaking act like it. Instead, Gov. DeSantis of Florida chose to take the low, low road to score political points:
'This is ridiculous': @GovRonDeSantis scolds students for wearing face masks during his @USouthFlorida visit https://t.co/v9XLjueCYi pic.twitter.com/TFeC6t6wL9
— WFLA NEWS (@WFLA) March 2, 2022
And yet it was the governor’s press secretary, speaking on his behalf, who said:
“As the governor said, ‘you can wear them if you want’ but there’s ‘no evidence’ masks make any difference,” said press secretary Christina Pushaw. “That has been clear for a long time, and the data informed our state’s official guidance. Following Florida, the CDC has even stopped recommending mask wearing for most Americans. After two years of mixed messages from health authorities and the media, the governor wants to make sure everyone is aware of the facts and data now, so they can feel free and comfortable without a mask.”
Clearly, there’s a caveat to the governor’s claim that ‘you can wear them if you want’. And that caveat is: if you choose to wear a mask around the governor, you will be publicly humiliated for your decision. A grown man who holds a position of power and influence should not be intimidating high schoolers (or anyone) for erring on the side of caution and masking up. DeSantis is an experienced politician who wants to become the next president. So, exploiting a situation to appeal to his anti-mask base is a golden opportunity for him. And he’ll grab on to it, even if the opportunity requires him to publicly bully kids. Shame on him. Moreover, I’m guessing he has absolutely no clue as to the health condition of these kids. He doesn’t know whether they have underlying health conditions that would make them more at risk. And I’m sure he doesn’t know whether their family members at home are in a health predicament which requires everyone in the household to be extra cautious when out in public. To me, that makes what he did all the worse. He was strutting about and throwing his weight around and thinking *only* of himself and his political future. He didn’t give one iota about those kids, didn’t think of their needs or lives, and only saw them as useful tools to advance himself.
–Dana
If I were the parent of any of those kids, I’d have words for the governor. And not pleasant words.
Dana (5395f9) — 3/2/2022 @ 3:14 pmOf course DeSantis trying to out-Trump Trump. It reminds of this meme, so maybe DeSantis can have his own meme from this event, one that paints him as the a$$hole that he is.
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 3/2/2022 @ 3:25 pmUnfortunately, DeSantis knows that in order to peel off Trump voters, he’s going to have to act like him because, unbelievably, that’s what they admire and want.
Dana (5395f9) — 3/2/2022 @ 3:31 pmThe proper response to the governor is “Fu*k off”
Kevin M (38e250) — 3/2/2022 @ 3:44 pm“there’s ‘no evidence’ masks make any difference”
There is evidence that *some* masks make a difference. For example, the masks that surgeons have been wearing for the last 125 years. I would hope that next time he has surgery, the attendees all take their masks off “to make him feel more comfortable.”
Kevin M (38e250) — 3/2/2022 @ 3:47 pmI hear sort of a whiny lisp, usually associated with pols up the Atlantic coast a bit, which in turn makes the 2018 FL gubonatorial election a watershed event.
urbanleftbehind (c6f17b) — 3/2/2022 @ 3:47 pmDeSantis should know that no one wants a fake Trump. Being loud and stupid isn’t enough.
Kevin M (38e250) — 3/2/2022 @ 3:49 pmurbanleftbehind @6. I bet that, afterwards, the kids had a lot of fun parodying the way he talks. The only thing that was missing was throwing his wrist back, by his shoulder, palm upwards, elbow in. But I’ll bet the kids added it. They added it. The thavageth!
nk (1d9030) — 3/2/2022 @ 3:54 pmMoreover, DeSantis has no idea whether any of those kids have health conditions that put them at greater risk of Covid. He doesn’t know anything about them, other than the fact that he is more powerful than them, and is able to intimidate and shame them. What an absolute jerk.
Dana (5395f9) — 3/2/2022 @ 3:55 pmMasks can be helpful during surgery. Okay. Were the students performing surgery on DeSantis?
mikeybates (b03003) — 3/2/2022 @ 4:01 pmI added more to the post because my comment at #9 reminded me of just how pissed off this made me.
Dana (5395f9) — 3/2/2022 @ 4:01 pm“but there’s ‘no evidence’ masks make any difference”
It’s all probabilities…and the answer isn’t either 100% or 0%. Now at this point with most people in an area vaccinated, I think it’s reasonable to waive masks. With the number of cases that are omicron, it’s reasonable to be waiving masks. If people want to keep wearing them because either they are higher-risk or someone around them is higher risk, then why make a deal about it? Life is short. Too many people…both sides….feel they need to make political points at other people’s expense. mg actually linked to a tree-house article where the author also chose to be a real a$$…and show them liberals. Be a nice person….at least try.
AJ_Liberty (ec7f74) — 3/2/2022 @ 4:51 pmGovernor DeSantis is speaking the truth and admitting reality.
If you’re that afraid of living, just stay home. Masks are performance art.
NJRob (fbe422) — 3/2/2022 @ 4:54 pmIf you’re that afraid of living, just stay home. Masks are performance art.
Now do that with pants.
nk (1d9030) — 3/2/2022 @ 4:58 pmThe yoots hould have said “you right, Gov!” and then coughed in unison behind him just to watch him squirm or call on his state patrol escort.
urbanleftbehind (c6f17b) — 3/2/2022 @ 5:25 pmas in florida, masks are optional at my kids’ school
if you picked several kids at random to be a backdrop, probably none of them would be wearing masks
oddly enough, here they found none who opted out or just maybe the school put them up to it
do they teach probability in high school?
JF (e1156d) — 3/2/2022 @ 5:30 pmMore than the effeminacy of the thing, was his chutzpah with “Covid theater”. The theater was entirely on his part. What was it to him if the kids wore masks? Or earrings? Or underwear, for that matter (“things gotta breathe” you know)? Nobody told him to wear one.
nk (1d9030) — 3/2/2022 @ 5:50 pmsounds like some fear a desantis nomination
so they need reasons to vote democrat again
and this is the best they’ve come up with so far
JF (e1156d) — 3/2/2022 @ 6:04 pmI’m sympathetic to where DeSantis is coming from on this, because it breaks my heart to see schoolkids, including teenagers, in my neighborhood wearing masks while walking alone outdoors. Clearly there is something to be said for the idea that we spent nearly 24 months fetishizing masks and have thus inculcated in our youth some sort of phobia that we are going to now have to undo (lots of luck with that!).
But it definitely is annoying to see the governor be so ham-handed in how he approaches this. I happened to be watching some Ronald Reagan videos a few weeks back around the time of his birthday (the Reagan Library has a fantastic YouTube channel, if you haven’t ever come across it), and in watching DeSantis interact with these kids I couldn’t help but reflect on how Reagan would have had a way lighter touch and would have easily gotten his point across without seeming so brusque or put-off. He would have paused, smiled at them, and very pleasantly told them that they didn’t have to wear a mask if they didn’t want to. And he wouldn’t have said anything about it being performative, because he would have trusted that they got the hint and he wouldn’t have used innocent young bystanders to play to the crowd.
After these years of Trumpism, the GOP needs another Happy Warrior — a steel fist inside of a velvet glove. I’m not sure who that could possibly be, but DeSantis isn’t off to a great start.
JVW (ee64e4) — 3/2/2022 @ 6:06 pmNot me, JF. The great mg himself says DeSantis will simp out (“go woke”, in his exact words) on something or some grievance bloc.
urbanleftbehind (c6f17b) — 3/2/2022 @ 6:14 pmDeSantis is Cuomo with an (R).
nk (1d9030) — 3/2/2022 @ 6:20 pmOr for that matter, wore underwear as a mask. Does the skid mark go in the front or the back?
steveg (e81d76) — 3/2/2022 @ 6:21 pmIs a question that can only be asked and answered by a PhD.
I thought you were an adult at 18 and able to handle meanie big people and vote and die for your country but not drink beer but do it anyway
steveg (e81d76) — 3/2/2022 @ 6:24 pmI think the $11 million from Regeneron investors DeSantis got while otherwise doing his best to promote the spread of Covid is the best I’ve come up with so far. He can remain Florida’s problem.
nk (1d9030) — 3/2/2022 @ 6:25 pmFor you, steveg:
There’s video too.
nk (1d9030) — 3/2/2022 @ 6:28 pmmittens would have been triple masked
mg (8cbc69) — 3/2/2022 @ 6:29 pmwere these kids L.A. exchange students? asking for a friend.
mg (8cbc69) — 3/2/2022 @ 6:34 pmI’m sympathetic to where DeSantis is coming from on this, because it breaks my heart to see schoolkids, including teenagers, in my neighborhood wearing masks while walking alone outdoors
I have a friend who is fighting a serious cancer and has utterly no immune system left from the various treatments he’s endured. Four shots and no antibodies. I imagine that he wears a mask nearly everywhere. Yes, it sucks, but it is what it is.
Kevin M (38e250) — 3/2/2022 @ 6:48 pmLike the ukrainian people 3 children bravely stood up to the thug and kept their masks on! The other children were to afraid of this predator.
asset (e98105) — 3/2/2022 @ 6:56 pmCompare DeSantis with Newsome and the legion of Democrat politicians who never wore masks during a mandate, even though they were forcing their voters to do so.
Which is worse?
Hoi Polloi (998b37) — 3/2/2022 @ 7:09 pmI blame nk for bringing up Ukrainian women.
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 3/2/2022 @ 7:27 pm@18. Shameless self-embarrassment is a prerequisite for the successful politician.
See Joe Biden for details.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/2/2022 @ 7:43 pmMemo to Desantis:
Russian space agency refuses to launch internet satellites, points at UK sanctions
OneWeb, a London-based satellite startup striving for global internet connectivity and a key competitor to Elon Musk’s StarLink satellite internet constellation, was set to launch a batch of 36 internet satellites Friday as part of its plan for a 648-satellite constellation. But those plans are now in jeopardy as Roscosmos, Russia’s space agency, appears set to roadblock the effort.
A Russian-built Soyuz rocket operated by France’s Arianespace SA was meant to deliver the satellites into low Earth orbit, launching from Russia-owned Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. OneWeb and Russia inked a multi-year deal for satellite launches, with the company launching its satellites exclusively on Russia’s Soyuz rocket.
But Dmitry Rogozin, Director General of Roscosmos and a former Deputy Prime Minister with a flair for inflammatory rhetoric, is refusing to go ahead with what should be a routine launch in response to UK sanctions on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.
The agency is requiring that the UK government sell all stakes in OneWeb and that the company guarantees the satellites will not be used for military purposes, according to an ultimatum spelled out on Twitter from Roscosmos’ offical account. Roscosmos stressed the demands are “due to the UK’s hostile stance towards Russia” on Wednesday. The deadline for requests to be met is 9:30 pm Moscow time Thursday, Rogozin said in an interview with Russia 24.
OneWeb already has 428 satellites in orbit, with its last launch of satellites just last month. The company is working to attract customers and pay back investors after the UK government and India’s Bharti Global saved it from bankruptcy in 2020.
Rogozin has tweeted flamboyant statements in the past in response to Western sanctions — namely in 2014 after the Russian annexation of Crimea. “After analyzing the sanctions against our space industry, I suggest to the USA to bring their astronauts to the International Space Station using a trampoline,” Rogozin said at the time on Twitter following US sanctions against Russia’s space sector.
Despite Rogozin’s flamboyant tweets and interviews, the United States and Russia have historically cooperated in space. While tensions on Earth have led to threats of premature exit, Rogozin has promised Russia will remain NASA’s partner at the International Space Station at least until the station is eventually retired.
British lawmakers shown no sign of bending to Roscomos and submitting to demands. “There’s no negotiation on OneWeb: the UK Government is not selling its share,” tweeted Kwasi Kwerteng, UK Business and Energy Secretary on Wednesday. “We are in touch with other shareholders to discuss next steps…” source, -CNN.com
DeSantis is governor of Florida. Hear-tell there’s a little spit of land along Florida’s east coast that’s been known to dabble in this space launching thingy– even worked w/ Elon Musk before. Might wanna pick up the phone and make some calls, Ron.
“Every time something goes wrong, the world forgets why we fly.” – Teddy Sanders [Jeff Daniels] ‘The Martian’ 2015
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/2/2022 @ 8:25 pmI have a friend who is fighting a serious cancer and has utterly no immune system left from the various treatments he’s endured. Four shots and no antibodies. I imagine that he wears a mask nearly everywhere. Yes, it sucks, but it is what it is.
Sorry to hear about your friend, Kevin M, but that really doesn’t describe the situation of the vast majority of the 5-18 year-olds whom I see walking to and from school each day.
JVW (ee64e4) — 3/3/2022 @ 12:05 amI will only vote in town elections. They count the votes in my town.
mg (8cbc69) — 3/3/2022 @ 3:06 amI think the issue here is more obvious. Someone intentionally put those kids in masks for the optics, knowing it was in conflict with the governor’s position, and he was upset with that.
It was a thin skinned response, and I’m not impressed with desantis on his COVID populism, but he’s smart enough not to flip flop.
I admit I’m annoyed when I see kids in masks despite the fact they might need them for some reason with family or illness. That’s unfair of me, but I’m really worried about the impact COVID choices had on kids. Everything is being filtered through dumb social media.
Desantis didn’t show a lot of respect here, probably realizing some adult did this thing.
Dustin (47bccc) — 3/3/2022 @ 4:36 amFirst, those aren’t kids. DeSantis went to a college. Those are all adults, unless their is a Doogie Howser in attendance. Those college-aged adults could be drafted, can vote, several probably can drink.
Let’s not get the vapors about this matter.
Hoi Polloi (093fb9) — 3/3/2022 @ 6:02 amThat isn’t the only foolish thing DeSantis has done recently:
If that doesn’t encourage Putin’s aggression, I don’t know what would.
Oh, and that might make relations with our NATO partner difficult, should DeSantis become president.
(I can’t help but wonder whether he got his opinions from a certain Simpson’s character.)
Jim Miller (406a93) — 3/3/2022 @ 6:09 amFace masks and balaclavas: I have more than ten of the first and two of the second. Both kinds can cover much of a person’s face, both provide some protection, one against germs, the other against cold.
I have never heard anyone object to balaclavas, and so I find it odd that so many object to face masks. It is as if face masks were like gang symbols for them.
(Incidentally, I recommend balaclavas to anyone who goes out in cold weather, especially to exercise — though I was amused recently to see that they are becoming fashionable in some places.)
Jim Miller (406a93) — 3/3/2022 @ 6:18 amDeSantis was showboating, but tried to be somewhat moderate about it. He may have satisfied nobody.
Sammy Finkelman (46ec7d) — 3/3/2022 @ 6:28 amHoi Polloi @ 37,
Perhaps it’s you who shouldn’t be getting the vapors: DeSantis was speaking at a college but the young people behind him were high school students. From the linked report:
Dana (5395f9) — 3/3/2022 @ 6:29 amEven if DeSantis was teased, his chain yanked, his cage rattles, do we need the petulance? What’s next? “White after Memorial Day? Girl, what were you thinking? And those shoes!”
nk (1d9030) — 3/3/2022 @ 6:29 amI find it funny that so many so-called conservatives here object to parents/students making their own decisions about masking up. If you don’t think masks are necessary, and you aren’t wearing one at this point in time, so be it. But why do you even care if other people are masking up and making a different decision than you? How is that infringing on your choice to not wear one? We are not at the beginning of the pandemic, where very little was known about COVID-19, nor are we in the devastating throes of it, given that numbers continue to go down in most areas. So, if people still feel compelled to wear one, what difference does that make? Why should you even care?
Dana (5395f9) — 3/3/2022 @ 6:35 amThis is pretty cynical. Perhaps the kids were told to mask up because that is the policy for visitors and/or people who work or attend the college. Maybe they themselves chose to do so. It really doesn’t matter because if perchance, an adult did tell them to mask up to provoke DeSantis and DeSantis reacted like an absolute jerk over it, that signals to me that he is immature and lacks some self-control. To be that easily baited is sad! If he can’t maintain his composure over something so stupid, what would he do on the big stage when provoked by any number of people/nations? Adn you may think it a ridiculous concern, but given the previous president’s inability to not react personally to just about everything and then act to protect his wounded ego or vanity, I think we’d be foolish not to pay attention to how DeSantis reacts to provocations (if that’s what this was).
Dana (5395f9) — 3/3/2022 @ 6:38 am43. Dana (5395f9) — 3/3/2022 @ 6:35 am
To some people, wearing a mask, is taken as implicit criticism of those who do not. DeSantis is not one of those people. But he wants their votes,
Sammy Finkelman (46ec7d) — 3/3/2022 @ 6:43 amDeSantis is going to be talked about all the more if Trump is in jail during the 2024 primaries. Even then, I wouldn’t rule Trump out.
Paul Montagu (5de684) — 3/3/2022 @ 7:06 amI have zero issues with DeSantis doing this, and I actually applaud him for doing so.
Masking has turned into this political, virtue-signaling football. DeSantis, as his role as a political leader, is pushing back at this, as he should.
And the framing of DeSantis pushback as “scolding the kids” is such a ridiculous opportunistic attitude of a self-righteous Karen. Stop trying to find Trumpism where there isn’t any.
@5
That’s not evidence that it works.
Masks has a place in a sterile environment in a healthcare setting. Mask can protect both the wearer and patient against some large droplet transmissions.
Some mask are better, like N95 or high-quality respirator. But, you really need proper training to be effective and they’re only designed to be worn for short-period of time. Failing to observe proper usage, at any time, renders it ineffective.
However, as a mitigation setting, even in a sterile healthcare environment, mask does little if at all to mitigate respiratory transmissions via aerosol. There are scant evidence that its even helps in any meaningful way.
I’ve been working in healthcare setting for over 20 years and I’m trained in proper PPE usage in clean room environments. (OR suites and pharmacy compounding rooms). We’ve have ALWAYS known that surgical mask does NOTHING against respiratory viral transmission. There are STILL disclaimers on the boxes of these masks stating that those mask are not to be used to stop seasonal cold virus, which includes COVID19.
To those advocates who argues that masking is such a little thing, why not just do it. Let me assert this, with as much feeling as I can muster: The mitigation strategies involving mask usage is NOT cost-free, pain-free or even just a minimal nuisance to some segment of the population. I’m severely deaf. Cochlear implant on one ear, hearing-aid on the other. I read lips. I cannot begin to tell you how isolating it is for someone with my disability when I have to interact with folks in public while everyone is masked up. I simply cannot hold a conversation, and it is only the good graces of the people/family around me that helps me navigate through these situations. It is absolutely isolating. I can’t even IMAGINE the development implications with kids in school, particularly the young ones, such that we’re going to see the absolute damage we did to these kids, just because the public couldn’t manage their neuroses.
Those kids in school are NOT in the demographic where they’re at risk for this disease. The raw statistics support that. They’re FAR MORE likely to have a severe reaction to the vaccine, then to get severely sick from COVID. They’re FAR MORE at risk of complications from the bloody FLU VIRUS, than COVID.
So, no. I’m not going to sit here and support the masking advocates anymore, particularly at schools.
I 100% support DeSantis in this, and people need to be challenged every day on this. You need to show your work as to WHY you support a mask mandate. Just because the CDC says so, isn’t enough. Someone need to show the rationale and it’s up to the public to determine if it’s reasonable or not.
whembly (123289) — 3/3/2022 @ 7:57 am@28
He can continue to wear mask, and he can continue to take measures to protect himself on his own.
What he can’t do, is demand everyone else do the same.
whembly (123289) — 3/3/2022 @ 8:02 am@43
Because he saw the political attack coming from a mile. The adults there wanted another Stacy Abraham photo where he’s unmasked and the kids are masked.
whembly (123289) — 3/3/2022 @ 8:06 amWell said on all counts whembly. I’m sorry for the terrible time you’ve experienced due to government induced panic. But I think reality is finally returning. We saw it at the joke of a State of the Union where the performance was done maskless. All for show.
Anyone who doesn’t think those students were told to mask or else is just kidding themselves. It was a propaganda attempt that DeSantis smoothly rebutted. I look forward to voting for him in 2024 as my father does this year and in ’24.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 3/3/2022 @ 8:08 amAnd for those claiming that masks don’t harm and it’s better to just not risk it go look at the childhood development issues taking place, from speech development, to social anxiety, to antisocial behavior not to mention the social hazards from a society that just accepts government dictats no matter how illogical or obviously false they are.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 3/3/2022 @ 8:10 amWhat he can’t do, is demand everyone else do the same.
He’s pretty clear on that.
Kevin M (38e250) — 3/3/2022 @ 9:23 amhose kids in school are NOT in the demographic where they’re at risk for this disease. The raw statistics support that. They’re FAR MORE likely to have a severe reaction to the vaccine, then to get severely sick from COVID. They’re FAR MORE at risk of complications from the bloody FLU VIRUS, than COVID.
When I was young, I had severe asthma. So severe that doctors told my parents that, while asthma usually diminishes after childhood, I might not live that long. Every cold or flu was a struggle. So, I cannot say I think much of demographics or averages. COVID then would probably have killed me.
Kevin M (38e250) — 3/3/2022 @ 9:28 amSissy Democrats should just get over it… follow the Science… over the cliff, if need be.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 3/3/2022 @ 9:43 amMask Mandates Didn’t Make Much of a Difference Anyway
You know that the students standing behind Governor DeSantis with masks on was political theater. What whembly said.
Governor Ron DeSantis
Tanny O'Haley (8a06bc) — 3/3/2022 @ 10:05 amI have problems with hyperventilating wearing even a surgical mask. I was abused despite having a doctors excuse not to wear a mask. We have 40 years of random control trials that say that masks do not prevent the spread nor a person getting a respiratory virus called the flu. While COVID-19 is different from the flu, they are both respiratory viruses and you get them both the same way. If masks don’t work for a respiratory virus, then it is not real science, but political science.
They say the science has changed, but don’t point to changed science and say that you don’t have to wear a mask indoors anymore in Los Angeles county.
Tanny O'Haley (8a06bc) — 3/3/2022 @ 10:17 am‘Barbaric CRUELTY’: Dad DECIMATES teacher’s unions and elite public health officials in brutal thread about forced masking of children
Tanny O'Haley (8a06bc) — 3/3/2022 @ 10:20 amDana – A comment of mine seems to be stuck in moderation. I think you will find it interesting.
Jim Miller (406a93) — 3/3/2022 @ 10:53 amThe later is certainly worse. But that’s part of the point. The crowd that has been advocating polices that are known to be harmful to kids don’t want to talk about that. Better to change the subject and what better way to change the subject than try to accuse the other side of what they’re actually doing.
frosty (0dec90) — 3/3/2022 @ 3:09 pmDeSantis defends scolding students over masks — and fundraises off it
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/3/2022 @ 4:35 pmHe should have asked to speak to the manager.
nk (1d9030) — 3/3/2022 @ 5:49 pmAnd, no, I don’t think that hypocrisy on the part of a handful of privileged jerkoffs is worse than a broad and sustained campaign to have everyone go around as if though Covid did not exist.
nk (1d9030) — 3/3/2022 @ 5:52 pmHere’s a large-scale experiment in Bangladesh on mask effectiveness:
Conclusion:
Bangladesh is poor, densely populated, and poorly educated, all of which, for me, makes these results more impressive.
Jim Miller (406a93) — 3/3/2022 @ 6:11 pmI think this whole discussion is moot. The country is done with masks, whether they’re effective or not.
norcal (5948da) — 3/3/2022 @ 6:14 pmThe video of his dismissiveness and the look on some of the kids faces as they pulled off the masks said it all. DeSantis was an ass.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 3/3/2022 @ 7:12 pm@63
There’s so many issues with that study, no one should consider it a valid study.
Here’s a brutal take down of this study:
https://healthy-skeptic.com/2021/09/02/how-to-lie-with-statistics-and-bad-study-design-mask-version/
TL;DR:
whembly (446c04) — 3/4/2022 @ 6:52 amThis was the difference in disease:
And was wearing masks the only thing they told them snd the only thing they did? Physical distancing also increased.
(Social distancing is a reduction of the number of people in public areas.
Only personal contact pr personal messaging seems to have increased mask wearing:
Sammy Finkelman (46ec7d) — 3/5/2022 @ 4:42 pm