DeSantis Rips AOC's Vacation, Points Out Lockdown Politicians Love to Party Down in FL - Video
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made a pretty funny and insightful quip Monday about how Democratic politicians seem to feel about his state when it’s time for vacation — despite all their fear-mongering over the coronavirus pandemic.
The joke came in the wake of New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s dumpster fire reaction to getting dragged on Twitter for visiting the conservative-led Sunshine State as New York City is hit by the omicron variant of COVID-19.
According to Fox News, DeSantis was asked about the Ocasio-Cortez visit during a news conference in Fort Lauderdale.
“Look… if I had a dollar for every lockdown politician who decided to escape to Florida over the last two years, I’d be a pretty doggone wealthy man, let me tell ya,” DeSantis said, drawing audible laughter.
The star Republican leader and potential presidential contender explained that “Congresspeople, mayors, governors, I mean, you name it,” have all been vacationing in Florida despite relentless mainstream media attacks on DeSantis for his hardline efforts oppose lockdowns and ban mask and vaccine mandates.
DESANTIS ON AOC: “If I had a dollar for every lockdown politician who decided to escape to Florida over the last two years, I’d be a pretty doggone wealthy man.”
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) January 3, 2022
“It’s interesting though, the reception that some of these folks will get in Florida. Because I think a lot of Floridians will say, ‘Wait a minute, you’re bashing us because we’re not doing your draconian policies, and yet we’re the first place you want to flee to, to basically to be able to enjoy life,” DeSantis said.
“And so I’m not surprised to see that continue to happen,” he explained.
Over the New Year weekend, Ocasio-Cortez was spotted maskless as she vacationed in Miami Beach with her boyfriend.
#WheresAOC? Mask free… ?? pic.twitter.com/SuDDLSScjl
— Christina Pushaw ? (@ChristinaPushaw) December 31, 2021
The sight attracted attention as, while New York City is experiencing a wave of new COVID-19 infections that are being blamed on the omicron variant, according to the New York Post, AOC chose to jet off to the conservative-led, lockdown-free state of Florida to apparently take some time off from playing hellish dystopia and enjoy a bit of normalcy for a change.
Ocasio-Cortez, ever gracious and slow to speak, responded by claiming the less interesting viral criticism that her boyfriend had weird sandals was due to the widespread desire among Republican men to sleep with her.
DeSantis’ subtle joke showed far more humor and class than the drama-addicted congresswoman’s sophomoric comments by simply pointing out the irony that his state seems to be a major vacation destination for the types of leaders who advocate for keeping Americans locked down, masked up, and fully vaccinated regardless of science and personal conscience.
“I could tell you, I mean, there probably be about half a dozen governors who had restrictions on their people and then were spotted at various points in Florida. Some of it’s been public. Some of it’s not been public,” he said, without naming any names.
(The full news conference can be viewed here. The Ocasio-Cortez question comes about the 42:40 mark.)
DeSantis’ campaign Twitter page did, however, issue AOC a hearty welcome to his state:
Welcome to Florida, AOC!
We hope you’re enjoying a taste of freedom here in the Sunshine State thanks to @RonDeSantisFL’s leadership. https://t.co/AU0Khspu8P
— Team DeSantis (@teamrondesantis) December 31, 2021
The governor, of course, has a point.
Ocasio-Cortez is one of Washington’s most prolific progressive fear-mongers and tribalist ideologues, yet she had no problem running off to drink cocktails in Florida for her vacation where, thanks to sound, sensible leadership, life has continued despite the pandemic.
[firefly_poll]
Whether this displays wild cognitive dissonance or feckless phoniness is anyone’s guess. I never know if AOC sincerely believes her dramatic pontificating or if she simply spouts whatever pithy, inflammatory, tweet-sized “argument” she thinks her impossibly idealistic radical base wants to hear.
She certainly doesn’t have any reason to fear a lot of negative attention from legacy and mainstream news outlets over such a seemingly contradictory vacation as she has been a darling of the establishment media for some time, and seems to regard her tactic of reacting with some cheap fallacy like “everyone who criticizes me just wants to have sex with me” as tried and true (some might wonder if it is her only tactic, but I digress).
All the same, there’s no escaping the fact that there’s pretty much no redeemable reason why she’d choose to go to Florida when, according to her own political party’s line, lockdowns, school closures, mask mandates, and vaccine mandates are necessary to stop the virus.
What’s more, it simply draws attention to the fact that Florida is doing fine.
As states like New York and California, which have consistently imposed some of the strictest policies in the nation, see case rates stay consistently high, Florida’s numbers amid DeSantis’ tyranny-free leadership have been comparably lower than the Empire State and the Golden States.
DeSantis’ leadership has been firm and effective and residents of his state have been able to enjoy a freer and healthier life than those under Democratic leadership (after all, New Yorkers are flocking to Florida), and he has proven that a pandemic can be confronted without overstepping sacred natural rights.
He has governed with the understanding that Americans need to get back to work and back to enjoying life and doing the things that matter.
His quip speaks volumes about the earnestness of the Democrats’ pandemic scare tactics, and the liberal politicians’ choice of a vacation destination speaks louder than any of their hysterical propaganda.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
