The last time anyone saw or heard from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
was on December 19, when he appeared on Fox News. Two days before that,
he made his last public appearance at a press conference to announce the
availability of monoclonal antibody therapy in the state. What has he
been up to since? No one really knew, prompting Democrats to slam the
Governor for "running away" from the state's massive Covid surge.
Between December 19 and December 31, Florida went from averaging around 5,000 cases to over 36,000, fuelled by the Omicron variant.
The massive surge has gone largely unchecked, with the state government
refusing to implement measures like mask mandates, which DeSantis has repeatedly fought against.
Instead of leading from the front, DeSantis went "missing", prompting
attacks from leading Democrats like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Instead of answering the question head-on, DeSantis' social media team
began posting old photos, something that AOC even picked up in her tweet
about him. Well, after two weeks we finally got an answer as to where
he has been, and it might leave the Dems a little red-faced. It appears
the Governor hasn't gone "missing", but rather took two weeks off for a
very important reason.
Why was DeSantis 'missing'?
On October 4, DeSantis said in a statement that his wife Casey had
been diagnosed with breast cancer. "As she faces the most difficult test
of her life, she will have not only have my unwavering support but the
support of our entire family, as well as the prayers and well wishes
from Floridians across our state. Casey is a true fighter, and she will
never, never, never give up," he said at the time.
Well, it appears that her diagnosis was the reason for his absence. A spokesperson for the Governor told Fox News
on December 31 that he wasn't on vacation, but instead caring for his
wife following a December 19 doctor's appointment. It's unclear what
happened at the appointment, with Fox only saying DeSantis accompanied
Casey for treatment on December 29. No other information was available.
It's also unclear why it took his team so long to confirm the news,
especially since the Governor had already made Casey's cancer diagnosis
public knowledge.
DeSantis Press Secretary Christina Pushaw also hit back at the
mounting criticism, replying to Joy Anne-Reid, "Have you ever considered
that you’re one of the reasons nobody trusts the media?" Along with
that, she attached screenshots of DeSantis' public schedule, noting he
was still taking meetings as of December 30. DeSantis communications
staffer Kyle Lamb also hit back, telling critics "Not having public
events does not = 'vacation.'"
On December 31, DeSantis made his first public appearance at a 'Let
Us Worship' event in Miami, where he was honored with the 'Defender of
Freedom' award. He tweeted a photo from the event, adding, "In Florida,
we will protect the right to worship and won’t let anyone shut you
down." Before that, he was also spotted at the Hard Rock Stadium in
Miami for the annual Orange Bowl game. He also tweeted a video that
appears to be from the game, where he can be seen interacting with the
players.
DeSantis himself though has not commented on his absence. But given
that his team has refused to divulge more information, it appears things
may not be very good right now with Casey. Hopefully, she recovers
soon.
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