TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The coronavirus pandemic has become politically charged for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, as evidenced by a slick two-minute video posted on social media this week that had the glow of a targeted political campaign ad to polish your image.
In the past few weeks, the governor’s leadership has been questioned, not only by Democrats, but also by some members of his own party, as Floridians are frustrated by the loss of jobs, the debate over reopening schools and the increase in status in COVID-19 cases.
DeSantis, a political protégé of President Donald Trump, has been considered a rising star in national politics. He has been touted as a possible Republican candidate for the White House in 2024, but national scrutiny of his handling of the Florida coronavirus outbreak has tarnished that image.
The recent video, which features mayors applauding DeSantis’ handling of the pandemic, “is an indication of how much pressure he feels and how uncomfortable he and his people are with public opinion,” said Mac Stipanovich, a veteran Republican strategist. . who has since left the party out of disgust at Trump’s performance as president.
A recent Fox News poll showed DeSantis’ approval rating fell to 53%, a six-point drop from April. Meanwhile, the percentage of Floridians who viewed it unfavorably grew from 33% in April to 40% last month.
DeSantis’ promotional video premiered the same day that one of its key image makers, Communications Director Helen Ferre, was named executive director of the Florida Republican Party and received a new mandate: to deliver Florida to Trump in November.
Ferre had been the chief spokesperson for the governor since he took office in January last year, and for much of 2019 his popularity remained extremely high.
Things turned around four months ago, when the pandemic prompted the governor to close schools, bars, and nightclubs, and place severe limitations on restaurants and other public establishments. As the closings increased Florida unemployment in April, benefit applicants experienced lengthy delays due to flaws on the state’s unemployment website, causing great frustration.
The video, published Thursday on Facebook and Twitter, shows excerpts from a round table that DeSantis convened this week in Miami with several area mayors.
At the beginning of the spot, the governor emphasizes unity. “Well, what do we need to do to change the course of the coronavirus?” he asks.
The video ends with the Governor declaring: “I am one hundred percent sure that we are going to get through this.”
In the middle, and against a musical backdrop, flash images of the governor-in-command and sounds of Republican and Democrat mayors praising his handling of the outbreak. Neither excerpt includes any of the most critical concerns voiced during the meeting.
Ferre, who still works as the governor’s spokesman, said in a statement that the video highlights the collaboration between the governor and local officials to combat the virus.
“The governor made it clear that even though they disagree politically, this is a unified effort to protect the health and well-being of Miami-Dade residents,” said Ferre.
Susan MacManus, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of South Florida, said the governor gave the right message of unity in turbulent times.
“I think it is a message that for some will seem very political,” he said, “but for others it seems very informative.” At a time like this, everything is seen as political. “
When the state began to reopen in May, DeSantis displayed charts and statistics to show that Florida had flattened the curve. But then, in late June and July, infections erupted and a debate arose over whether it had moved too fast to boost the economy.
DeSantis has resisted calls to re-impose the shutdown of the economy and demand the wearing of masks statewide, even when other Republican governors, such as in Texas and Alabama, have done so. Instead, DeSantis left it up to mayors and county commissioners to decide whether to apply stricter measures and how to do it, as major population centers have.
Democrats have accused the governor of “failed leadership.”
“His non-intervention approach is not working,” Democratic State Senator Audrey Gibson, a minority leader in her chamber, said earlier this week. “It is losing the war against the pandemic.”
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber, a Democrat, said he was not informed about the video ahead of time, but that he did not oppose its presentation, if the governor acts on the suggestions and concerns that Gelber and other mayors conveyed to him. .
“I want him to do his job of bringing our residents to better health,” said Gelber, who wants the governor to order masks statewide, just as Miami Beach has done since April.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, a Republican, urged the governor to develop a long-term strategy.
Another Republican, Hialeah’s Mayor Carlos Hernández, was rejected when he tried to attend the round table. A month before the meeting, the mayor had criticized the governor.
“He hasn’t done much for the city of Hialeah, to be honest,” Hernandez told a Miami-area television station, Local 10 News.
There were other signs of fissures within the governor’s own party, particularly due to the reopening of schools for face-to-face instruction.
Michael Olenick, a member of the state school board, has asked the state Department of Education to rescind an order requiring campuses to reopen next month.
Another Republican, state Rep. René Plasencia, called the reopening of the campuses “potentially catastrophic” in a letter addressed to school board members earlier this week.
“We helped ‘curb the spread’ when the state was proactive in mitigating COVID-19,” he wrote, “but unfortunately since then we have taken tremendous steps back.”
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