No One Has Ever Told DeSantis That Florida is Like West Berlin

During a press conference yesterday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis claimed visitors to his state tell him, “This must be what it was like going from East Berlin to West Berlin.” DeSantis made these remarks in the context of his administration's looser policies when it comes to COVID.

I call shenanigans. Somehow I doubt tourists who happen to bump into Governor DeSantis liken Boca Raton to Berlin. Indeed, back in May 2021, DeSantis himself dubbed Florida "America's West Berlin" claiming people were escaping the "repressive" policies of Democratic states. His claim that people are telling him that Florida is "West Berlin" is a figment of his imagination sprinkled with fertilizer.

Now there were certainly people who relocated from New York to Florida but their pilgrimage can hardly be described as going from East Berlin to West Berlin. After all, no one was stopping these people from leaving New York nor anywhere else. Those who wished to flee East Berlin to West Berlin faced near certain death from the bullets of East German guards.

Of course, DeSantis knows this full well. But so long as Trump doesn't let facts get in the way of an argument then DeSantis certainly won't either. That is unless Florida voters decide to dump DeSantis in favor of Charlie Crist in November.