Trump was on Hugh Hewitt’s show this morning lying about Governor DeSantis’ response to COVID, which we’ve covered here earlier this year.
The Washington Examiner published a report today revealing that in 2021, Trump’s COVID team sent DeSantis a letter trying to get him to reimplement masking. This was long after DeSantis forced open his state from all the COVID madness.
Here’s the report:
Former President Donald Trump’s administration told Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) to reinstitute masking and social distancing in Florida in 2021, months after the governor had reopened the state.
In a letter obtained by the Washington Examiner, Trump’s White House Coronavirus Task Force warned DeSantis’s administration that “aggressive mitigation must be used,” including “uniform implementation” of 2-3-ply well-fitting masks and “strict physical distancing.”
DeSantis had lifted all COVID-19 restrictions on businesses and restaurants in Florida and banned fines for not wearing a mask in September 2020, months prior to the letter.
In a radio interview with Hugh Hewitt on Wednesday, Trump slammed DeSantis’s COVID-19 handling, saying, “He shut down Florida. It was tight as a drum. He had vax lines. He was vaxxing everything. Now, he talks about the vaccinations this and that.”
But in the letter sent to Florida from Trump’s task force, DeSantis was told, “Do not delay the rapid immunization of those over 65 and vulnerable to severe disease.”
It further advised “active and aggressive immunization.”
The letter also instructed the state on “maintaining public confidence and maximizing vaccine acceptance” to address “persistent vaccine-hesitancy.”
During Trump’s interview, he further told Hewitt, “[DeSantis] said he wouldn’t let anybody come in. He shut down his beaches. He shut down the entire state.”
“He has a selective memory,” Trump continued. “He shut down. [Gov.] Henry McMaster didn’t shut down South Carolina. [Gov.] Kristi Noem didn’t shut down South Dakota.”
However, the Trump administration’s report to DeSantis advised in January 2021, “Florida must increase both statewide and local public mitigation. Increase communication around the importance of personal mitigation with masking, physical distancing, and avoiding family gatherings.”
In the beginning of the pandemic nearly every state shut businesses down for a time because we didn’t know much about COVID, and it was Trump and his COVID team telling everyone to do it. But DeSantis was the first to begin removing the COVID restrictions and in September he fully reopened his state. He did this when everyone else was against it and now we see Trump was trying to get DeSantis to renew masking in 2021.
If we’re comparing, Trump is the one with the worse record on COVID. Remember, he spent a long time praising DeSantis for his courageous response to COVID. He’s only changed his tune now because DeSantis is running for president. That’s what makes Trump so detestable during this primary. I really wanted to promote both Trump and DeSantis during this primary, but I can’t when Trump spends most of his time spreading lies and misinformation about DeSantis. This is the part of Trump that I abhor.