Charlie Crist says 40,000 Floridians would be alive if not for Ron DeSantis’s Covid policies

‘I’m satisfied with my approach, I would have listened to scientists unlike the governor’

DeSantis, left, faces off against Crist in the only debate in the race for Florida governor (via REUTERS)

Former Democratic Representative Charlie Crist slammed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in their sole gubernatorial debate on Monday night, saying 40,000 Floridians died unnecessarily during the pandemic because of the governor’s policies.

The debate moderator asked if each of the candidates was satisfied with their response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Yeah, I’m satisfied with my approach, I would have listened to scientists unlike the governor,” Mr Crist said. He noted how Mr DeSantis largely kept the state open throughout the pandemic.

Mr DeSantis has also blasted White House chief medical adviser Dr Anthony Fauci for his counsel during the pandemic, selling gear saying “Don’t Fauci my Florida.” Mr Crist criticised the rhetoric.

“You can keep things reopen, but you got to do it with an eye toward what health care providers tell you, not being arrogant, so arrogant that you won’t listen to the advice of when masks are appropriate and later on when they aren’t appropriate,” he said.

Mr Crist said that 82,000 Floridians died of Covid-19.

“And, if we only had the standard of other states in the United States, 40,000 of those people would still be alive, enough to fill Tropicana Stadium in St Petersburg,” he said.

In response, Mr DeSantis accused Mr Crist of calling for “harsh lockdowns” in July of 2020.

“And if that had happened in this state, it would have destroyed the state of Florida,” he said. “Our hospitality and tourism industry, which has thrived, would have gone into disrepair. It would have thrown millions of Floridians into turmoil. And I can tell you, as Charlie Crist and his friends in Congress were urging you to be locked down, I lifted you up.”

Mr DeSantis’s policies on Covid-19 led to him becoming a hero to many on the right and to some calling for him to run for president in 2024.

In response, Mr Crist said Florida had one of the highest death rates in the United States and that six million Floridians contracted Covid-19 during his tenure. He also hit Mr DeSantis for going after businesses in the state.

“I’m not the governor who attacked Walt Disney World because they deigned to express their point of view,” he said. Mr DeSantis signed legislation earlier this year ending Florida’s governing agreement with Disney World after it opposed his “Don’t Say Gay” legislation that limited how schools can talk about LGBTQ+ people.

He also criticised Mr DeSantis’s criticism of Florida’s cruise industry for requiring employees and travellers to be vaccinated.

“That’s you,” Mr Crist said. “You’re the most anti-business governor I’ve ever seen,.”

In response, Mr DeSantis said that plenty of businesses had moved to Florida and that the state leads the nation in net migration.

“We worked with nursing homes, we did testing with seniors, we did monoclonal antibodies, and the result is 38 other states had higher Covid mortality rates for senior citizens,” he said. “We’ve thrived as a result. That would not have happened if Charlie Crist had got his way and locked down the state in July of 2020.”