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CNN Admits Gov. DeSantis Succeeded Despite Refusing To Lock Down Florida — Liberal Supporters Are Having A Melt Down

By • March 18, 2021 5:32 pm

In a rare occasion, the mostly-left leaning CNN admitted that the pandemic response of Republican Governor Ron DeSantis in Florida “has been largely” successful despite earlier criticisms that he was being reckless for refusing to implement any more lockdowns in the Sunshine State over the coronavirus when most of the country still did.

The CNN story entitled: “A Year Into The Pandemic, Florida Is Booming And Republican Gov. DeSantis Is Taking Credit” — written by the outlet’s chief national affairs correspondent, Jeff Zeleny, subtly admits that the Republican governor was able to shield Florida’s economy while being able to evade the “massive” death toll that many were predicting.

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“As many parts of the country embark on an uneasy march toward normalcy, Florida is not only back in business — it’s been in business for the better part of the past year,” part of the article said.

“DeSantis’ gamble to take a laissez faire approach appears to be paying off — at least politically, at least for now, as other governors capturing attention in the opening phase of the pandemic now face steeper challenges,” Zeleny added.

DeSantis COVID-19 plan included permitting children to return to in-person learning, and businesses to reopen as usual. The Governor is also setting his sight on possibly dropping the mask requirements across Florida.

“Despite far fewer rules and restrictions, Florida lands nearly in the middle of all states on a variety of coronavirus metrics. The state has had about 3% more Covid-19 cases per capita than the US overall, but about 8% fewer deaths per capita. More than 32,000 Floridians have died of Covid-19, and the state’s per capita death rate ranks 24th in the nation,” it added.

Zeleny also goes on to document how Florida is in the middle of the pack when it comes to the COVID-19 cases, ranking the 23rd worst out of 50 states. 

Booming economy, controlled COVID-19 infection

He also compared Florida to California, which was among the first to implement statewide lockdowns and said despite their “very stringent” lockdown policies, the state came in at 22nd.

“Despite far more stringent restrictions, California only ranks one spot better than Florida in both measures. Its death rate is about 5% lower than Florida’s, which means about 1,500 lives could have been saved in Florida if the state’s death rate matched that of California,” the story added.

The CNN article also pointed out that the state is booming compared to those that implemented the lockdown and heavily weighed down their economies.

“DeSantis refused to implement a mask mandate in the first place, making him an outlier a year ago. At the time, he was hewing closely to President Donald Trump’s playbook, which he argued at the time was good for business,” it said.

The unemployment rate in Florida is also better at 4.8 %, according to the latest figures from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, compared to 6.8% in Texas, 8.8% in New York and 9% in California.

Liberals blast CNN for positive coverage of DeSantis

With the positive coverage on a GOP governor, liberal supporters weren’t pleased with CNN, nor with Zeleny and they started firing off angry responses to the article, and its writer.

“CNN you’re out of your f***ing minds for this headline,” on tweeted DJ Ross One.

“Get the f*** out of here with this s**t,” screenwriter Dan Hernandez replied.

 “CNN pushing this narrative that DeSantis is some kind of hero is f***ing bulls***,” wrote Gossamer co-founder David Weiner.

“Like, What The Actual F***, CNN? Don’t you have access to the same information *I* have on DeSantis’ execrable record on his pandemic response?” another response said.

“Who the f**k wrote this nonsense article? Desantis has shunned science and silenced the public health officials in his state. He makes sure upper class, white people get vaccinated over minorities. He’s such a leader,” wrote another tweet commenting on the article.

Supporters defend DeSantis’ coronavirus response

Meanwhile, support also poured in for Governor DeSantis.

“CNN 2020: “Ron DeSantis is killing more people than any other gov. CNN 2021: “Ron Desantis is indeed doing better than the others, and he has the nerve to take credit for it,” one comment said.

“Liberal trolls upset that Ron DeSantis was successful and their govs were not,” another said.

“CNN reporter is getting flack for what looks like an attempt at doing actual journalism.”

“Wow! @CNN finally admits that Florida got it right! #Lockdowns don’t work!”

Governor DeSantis came in second in popularity behind former President Donald Trump in the last CPAC straw poll, and is considered by many to be a strong potential presidential contender in 2024. 

Steeve Strange

Steeve is the CEO & Co-Founder of The Scoop.
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