DeSantis defies critics as coronavirus spreads in Florida

On Friday, when DeSantis first spoke to reporters about the GOP convention moving to Florida in August, the state was setting new records for the number of coronavirus cases reported each day. But he downplayed the severity of coronavirus’s spread, partly because hospitalization and death rates remained relatively low and stable. And he framed the convention as an economic shot in the arm, rather than a petri dish of infection as some detractors contended.

“You’re talking about a massive economic impact. I think you’re gonna have folks that are going to be able to spend a lot of money,” DeSantis said. “I think it’ll help with the economic recovery. … Look, we’re not out of the woods with the jobs by any stretch.”…

DeSantis is “shooting himself in the foot,” said Dr. Aileen Marty, a Florida International University pandemic expert who is advising the Republican mayor of Miami-Dade County, Carlos Gimenez.

DeSantis is “so eager to open up the economy because we’re in a recession now. It is a horrible situation. But he thinks in downplaying the threat of the virus that’s going to help the economy,” she said. “It’s going to backfire because if people fail to understand how dangerous this particular virus is, they’re going to act in irresponsible ways.”