Signing four medical freedom bills in Destin on May 11—including one making Florida the first state to ban controversial “gain of function” research—Gov. Ron DeSantis recounted his lonely fight against national health authorities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He spoke to an enthusiastic crowd that gave him such a long-standing ovation when he walked in that he finally had to ask them amiably to sit down.
DeSantis defined the first term of his governorship—and began to make his name nationally—with his leadership pushing back against federally mandated social distancing, masks, lockdowns, and vaccines.
He credited Northwest Florida as an area that itself pushed back against lockdown….