Las Vegas Sun

May 16, 2024

Letter to the editor:

Floridians deserve better

Republican former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie criticized Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for refusing to meet with Joe Biden when the president visited hurricane-ravaged Florida. DeSantis also railed against future COVID-19 restrictions, including masking and the latest vaccine.

Hurricane Idalia caused at least four deaths and could costup to $20 billion in property damage. As Biden works in conjunction with the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the response, assistance and recovery of damages from national crises. DeSantis ignored his role as governor to remain on the campaign trail for the 2024 presidency.

Likewise, DeSantis continued to be the voice of national far-right politics instead of protecting Florida citizens when he announced he would fight back against “every bogus attempt the left makes to expand government control when it comes to COVID-19 precautions” while at the same time having his state surgeon general warn against the latest vaccine.

As of July 23, at least 89,075 Florida residents had died from COVID-19. In 2022, Florida led the nation in summer COVID deaths for the third straight year.

Florida is known as the sunshine state and Disney World is “The Most Magical Place on Earth.” Unfortunately, this is not true for Florida residents, the victims of Hurricane Idalia and COVID-19 victims under the governorship of Ron DeSantis.