Opinion | Trump’s Most Brazen Attack Yet?

The “free authorities of Florida”? No, contempt what you mightiness recall, aliases person knowledgeable astatine nan time, aliases find erstwhile looking up nan grounds for yourself, it was really nan “shut down Sunshine state.”

“Florida was really closed, for a great, agelong play of time,” Trump told reporters during his first run swing. “Remember, he closed nan beaches and everything else? They’re trying to rewrite history.”

He followed up pinch a Truth Social station touting “the revelations astir Ron DeSanctimonious doing FAR WORSE than galore different Republican governors, including that he unapologetically unopen down Florida and its beaches, was interesting, indeed.”

The expected revelations were, of course, nan dubious things that Trump himself had said.

This is brazen moreover by Trump’s standards. It will return each of his powers arsenic a governmental sloganeer, marketeer and wrecking-ball to antagonistic nan DeSantis marque connected Covid, which has nan advantage of being grounded successful reality.

For Republicans, DeSantis’ attack to nan pandemic of getting retired of shutdowns arsenic soon arsenic imaginable and resisting mandates and restrictions has been vindicated and has entreaty to astir each factions of nan party.

For populists, he resisted nan elites and self-appointed experts. For limited-government conservatives, he (although this is complicated) lightened nan dense manus of government. For everyone correct of center, he forged his ain way successful nan look of accepted contented and sewage attacked for it successful nan media and by nan near — demonstrating nan paramount GOP virtues of having courageousness and nan correct enemies.

DeSantis would person overmuch to brag astir successful his grounds successful Florida absent Covid, but it is his consequence to nan pandemic that sets him isolated and makes him, for nan moment, a near-legend for galore Republicans. There’s nary wonderment that Trump feels compelled to effort to contradict him this foundational strength.

Trump is correct that DeSantis issued shutdown orders for illustration astir everyone other astatine nan outset of nan pandemic. In March 2020, nan politician issued statewide restrictions and past much far-reaching measures successful Palm Beach and Broward counties. Beaches, arsenic Trump said, were unopen down.

The problem Trump has is that DeSantis was initially acting successful keeping pinch nan guidance of nan national authorities that Trump led. Trump’s statement amounts to a type of nan celebrated Flounder statement from Animal House — DeSantis fucked up, he trusted us.

Despite Trump’s occasional grousing, he had astatine his correct hep during nan full pandemic nan man that has travel to correspond for Republicans each that was incorrect pinch nan pandemic response: Anthony Fauci. If Trump had a tense narration pinch nan long-time national official, he mostly went on pinch Fauci’s advice.

It tends to beryllium forgotten, but Georgia went first successful re-opening successful precocious April 2020, and Trump deed GOP Gov. Brian Kemp for it.

At 1 of his signature coronavirus briefings, Trump said, “I told nan politician of Georgia, Brian Kemp, that I disagree powerfully pinch his determination to unfastened definite facilities.” Trump opined that Kemp had moved “just excessively soon,” and was “in violation” of measurement 1 of his administration’s phased re-opening plan. He urged Georgians to “wait a small spot longer, conscionable a small spot — not overmuch — because information has to predominate.”

When DeSantis, too, moved to re-open, Trump’s coronavirus adviser, Fauci, attacked nan authorities for moving excessively quickly. “Certainly Florida I know, you know, I deliberation jumped complete a mates of checkpoints,” Fauci told nan 538 podcast. He said that nan authorities needed to shutter bars and forestall crowds.

By May 2020, Florida had a clearly distinguishable approach to nan pandemic. I interviewed DeSantis then, and he already was skeptical of shutdowns and focused connected protecting nan astir susceptible alternatively than population-wide measures.

Florida had begun easing restrictions, cautiously and connected a phased ground astatine first, but much quickly than successful almost each different states. In September 2020, DeSantis lifted capacity limits connected restaurants, arguing that nan acquisition of Miami-Dade, which closed restaurants, and Broward, which didn’t, showed they were ineffectual.

Crucially, nan authorities was perfectly insistent that schools return to in-person instruction. Now there’s a statement that distant learning was mostly a debacle, but astatine nan clip DeSantis was believed to beryllium making a risky choice. As nan Washington Post reported successful August 2020, “Florida is making a high-stakes bet connected schoolhouse openings, pinch superintendents pressured into decisions that immoderate fearfulness will consequence successful coronavirus outbreaks.”

The authorities had to bludgeon immoderate counties to spell along, and conflict disconnected a suit from nan Florida Education Association.

Another problem that Trump has is that during this play he was lavishing Florida pinch praise for its accent connected re-opening. In July 2020, he enthused, “Look astatine what’s going connected successful Florida, it’s incredible,” and astatine an October run rally successful Florida he called DeSantis “one of nan top governors successful our country,” specifically citing really “you’re unfastened and you didn’t close, and you’re conscionable amazing.”

Trump is endlessly elastic and tin effort to talk his measurement retired of anything, but un-ringing this doorbell is apt going to beryllium beyond moreover his powers.

Over time, DeSantis shifted into a different mode, utilizing nan powerfulness of his agency and nan authorities to artifact further Covid restrictions by localities, schoolhouse boards and backstage businesses. He kept localities from obstructing businesses from opening aliases fining group for violating disguise ordinances. He forbid vaccine passports. He prevented schools from forcing parents to disguise their children.

All of this was a frank usage of authorities power, though toward nan extremity of allowing arsenic overmuch individual discretion successful reacting to nan microorganism arsenic possible.

DeSantis began talking of choosing freedom complete Faucism and of his guidance to nan “biomedical information state,” capturing and starring blimpish sentiment that had mislaid each patience pinch thing associated pinch nan consciousness of emergency astir nan pandemic. He took peculiar purpose astatine vaccine mandates, and called for an investigation of alleged misinformation astir nan vaccines.

While DeSantis was a sitting politician who could return actual and symbolic steps to beforehand a wholly anti-Fauci perspective, Trump, by this point, was retired of agency and powerless to revise what had been his business pinch Fauci aliases return measures much successful keeping pinch nan Republican temper successful April 2022 arsenic opposed to April 2020.

DeSantis’ consequence to Covid isn’t going to beryllium decisive successful a prospective 2024 superior conflict pinch Trump. It is, however, what has put him successful nan game. It besides is simply a ample portion of nan logic that Republicans consciousness vested successful and protect of nan governor, making it harder for Trump to mock and belittle him — not that he isn’t going to try.

Trump accuses DeSantis of disloyalty. If processing a grounds connected covid that is going to beryllium almost intolerable for Trump to counteract counts, he’s blameworthy arsenic charged.