Reopening plan coming
At White House, DeSantis says he will detail state’s next steps today
Gov. Ron DeSantis, appearing Tuesday at the White House with President Donald Trump, said he would present his plan for reopening Florida on Wednesday.
His monthlong stay-at-home order runs through Thursday. He didn’t provide details about what’s coming next, though he hinted it wouldn’t be a dramatic return to business as usual.
“For Florida, going from where we are now to phase one is not a very big leap. I think that it will be able to be a small step for us,” he said, before adding some of the messaging that he’s been using at recent appearances throughout the state.
“We’re going to approach it in a very measured, thoughtful and data-driven way, and I think that’s what most of the folks throughout the state are looking for,” he said.
DeSantis described it as “a gradual process.” One reason it won’t be as huge a change in Florida as it might in other states, the governor said, is that “we kept a lot of things going safely,” such as construction.
DeSantis used his time on the national stage — sitting next to Trump in the yellow Oval Office chair used by visiting world leaders — to defend his decision to issue a stay-at-home order later than governors in many other states, offer some medical theories, and make some predictions about the future of Florida’s vital tourist economy.
Stay-at-home timing
DeSantis issued a stay at home order on April 1. It went into effect on April 3 and runs through April 30. He said his order — which wasn’t as restrictive or early as other states — worked out well for Florida.
Much of the state outside South Florida didn’t need the same efforts as Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, which is home to most of the state’s cases.
“What have the results been? You look at some of the most draconian orders that have been issued in some of these states and compare Florida in terms of our hospitalizations per 100,000, in terms of our fatalities per 100,000,” he said — before rattling off the names of 10 states.
“You name it — Florida has done better. And I’m not criticizing those states. But everyone in the media was saying that Florida was going to be like New York or Italy, and that has not happened, because we understood we have a big diverse state,” DeSantis said. “We understood the outbreak was not uniform throughout the state, and we had a tailored and measured approach that not only helped our numbers be way below what anyone predicted, but also did less damage to our state going forward.”
Return to normal
DeSantis said he thinks a “thoughtful” and “measured” approach — “not pretending that this virus doesn’t exist” — will be a key to restoring confidence, and that will lead to a comeback of the economy, especially in the all-important tourist sector.
He said Florida’s big selling point for tourists may be an advantage when considering coronavirus, given the state’s experience so far. “Maybe it’s because most of our activities are outdoors,” and it’s not as easily transmitted “when you’re outside in the sun as compared to close contact indoors,” he said.
“I don’t think it’s going to happen overnight,” he said, “but I think that as people see that different things can happen safely, I think the confidence factor will go up.”
Travel
DeSantis said he doesn’t believe international travel was the source of coronavirus in Florida. Instead, he attributed it to travel from the New York City area to South Florida.
He said both Orlando and South Florida attract many international travelers, but it’s South Florida that is home to the bulk of the state’s coronavirus cases and deaths. As of Tuesday, the Florida Department of Public Health reported that 57.7% of the state’s deaths and 59.5% of the state’s cases are in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties. The region accounts for 28.9% of the Florida population.
DeSantis said international travel would come back once people are confident about what Florida is doing, though he said that wouldn’t be immediate.
Going forward, DeSantis said he’s concerned that international travelers could bring more infections to Florida and cause spread.
He recommended that the airlines use the instant test developed by Abbott Laboratories to screen anyone who boards a flight for the United States.
Asked about the emerging hot spots in Latin America, and specifically Brazil — home to many people who visit South Florida — DeSantis said that’s a concern.
“I think Brazil and some of those places which have a lot of interaction in Miami, you’re going to probably see the epidemic increase there as their season changes,” he said. “We could potentially be way on the other side doing well in Florida, and you could just have people kind of come in” and bring the virus with them.
Politics
Trump and DeSantis, who is widely seen as a possible 2024 candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, are close political allies.
As a member of Congress, DeSantis was an outspoken backer of the president. And Trump’s endorsement helped propel DeSantis to victory in the 2018 Republican gubernatorial primary, and to a general election victory that November.
Trump praised the governor on Tuesday as someone who is doing a “spectacular job.” DeSantis “enjoys very high popularity,” because “he’s doing a very good job,” Trump said.
Actually, polling shows that DeSantis’ once skyhigh popularity has slipped.
An April 22 Quinnipiac University poll found 53% of Florida voters approved of DeSantis’ performance and 33% disapproved, a net positive of 20 points. In March 2019, he had a net positive of 42 points.
Voters were slightly more negative of DeSantis’ handling of the coronavirus coverage, though the governor got higher marks than Trump received from Florida voters.
DeSantis was prepared for his meeting with Trump, who is notorious for eschewing lengthy, formal written presentations. DeSantis had two large posters, one with talking points and the other with a bar graph. He also had large photos of coronavirus testing in Florida.
White House video shows the president looking intently at DeSantis’ props. When DeSantis was putting one of the posters down to pick up the other, Trump offered to hold one. “I’ll be an easel,” he said.
Trump also praised his visitor. “Ron has been great. And some of your friends, some of the other governors, have done a good job. But some haven’t done a very good job, I’ll be honest with you. Some have not,” Trump said.
Democrats didn’t share that assessment.
The Florida Democratic Party characterized the DeSantis meeting as an attempt to “spin their chaotic response” to the pandemic.
“On the morning Florida reported the highest single-day death toll from COVID-19, Ron DeSantis flew to the White House for a victory tour with Donald Trump. Apparently, Trump and DeSantis find it appropriate to slap each other on the back while Floridians struggle to stay safe during this pandemic.”