Ron DeSantis: Lockdown Politicians Contributed to Florida's Booming Tourism Numbers

“Lockdown politicians” contributed to Florida’s historic domestic tourism numbers, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said on Tuesday as he announced the Sunshine State seeing a record-breaking 118 million domestic visitors in the state in 2021.

Florida saw record-breaking numbers for domestic tourism last year, despite constant criticisms from the far-left as DeSantis has kept his state open, consistently prioritizing personal freedom throughout the Chinese coronavirus pandemic. Millions flocked to the state last year, escaping heavy-handed mandates in blue states — including pro-lockdown politicians.

“And amongst those visitors, I just have to point out, you have governors that have locked down their states, imposed mandates, imposed restrictions. You have big city mayors that have imposed lockdown policies. You have people on TV news networks that advocate for restrictions and lockdowns, and almost all of them have been criticizing Florida for a year and a half and yet many of them are part of our visitation figures,” DeSantis said, highlighting the hypocrisy of these left-wing politicians.

They were “coming down to Florida, you have them on the beach, you find them somewhere else, at some resort,” he continued. “All the while, they’re treating their own people very poorly and criticizing us for treating people with respect and protecting their freedoms.”

“So yes, there are a lot of those lockdown politicians that are reflected in the 118 million visitors from across the nation. But look. You know, people vote with their feet so they can say one thing, but what they do is often more important than what they say,” the governor added.

Some of the hypocritical lockdown Democrats who have sought refuge in Florida in recent months include Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who in December vacationed in Miami while her home state of New York continued to implement coronavirus restrictions on residents; Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), who traveled to Florida last year for a “personal trip” while advising Michiganders to avoid spring break vacations to the Sunshine State; and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D), who reportedly spend part of his Christmas vacation there.

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