Illinois’ Democrat Governor, J.B. Pritzker, has a strange fascination with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, like his Californian counterpart Gavin Newsom, thinks that taking periodic jabs at Florida Governor is a good idea.
DeSantis can knock both of them down without a fight, revealing their two-faced nature.
This is what happened last Thursday and on Friday, after a clearly agitated Pritzker released a statement filled with buzzwords denouncing DeSantis’s upcoming visit to the state of his home ahead of rumored presidential announcements in 2024.
Pritzker said: “Ron DeSantis claims to be fighting for people’s freedoms, but he’s not afraid to take away their reproductive rights. He also attacks schools and libraries in order to limit what teachers and parents want for their children. He ignores the humanity of LGBTQ individuals and fails to protect those of color who are seeking a life free of discrimination.”
DeSantis is known for his career of slapping down anyone who does not subscribe to his petty rule. This makes him an ideal candidate for the GOP Lincoln Day Dinner, he said, also taking aim at DeSantis’ second place standing in some polls on the GOP primary race.
Pritzker continued, “In Illinois, we reject the cruelty that he advocates and stand firmly in opposition to his hateful agenda.”
DeSantis, not surprisingly, was a raging bull during his speech at the Peoria Lincoln Dinner. He focused on the “woken” policies of Illinois, which he said have made the lives of residents of Illinois, especially children, more dangerous. Pritzker, however, hates it when this is brought up, as Pritzker sent his family, his wife, and his daughter, to Florida during the early stages of the COVID outbreak, during which time he was busy locking down his state.
DeSantis responded to Pritzker’s remarks before his arrival by saying, “I’m disappointed that your governor said that I was not welcome in Illinois.” “I seem to recall that when he was enforcing the law in this state, his family moved to my state to enjoy our freedom.”
DeSantis noted that, unlike Pritzker, he had never declared his state to be off-limits for Democratic governors or their families.
DeSantis, responding to Gov. Pritzker’s statement ahead of his visit: “I’m a little bit disappointed that your governor said I wasn’t welcome in Illinois…when he was locking down this state, he sent his family to live in my state..I didn’t say they weren’t welcome in Florida.” https://t.co/2HKgbYuCVV
— Kit Maher (@KitMaherCNN) May 13, 2023
Pritzker, when first asked where his family was, reacted angrily, pulling the “family privacy card” when asked. However, it was later confirmed that they were in Florida, and had been there since March 2020, at the billionaire Governor’s Florida horse ranch:
Pritzker said, “I’d like to start by saying that it used to be in politics that we kept out our families.” “My official duties are unrelated to my family.” “I won’t answer this question.” “It’s inappropriate, and I find that it is reprehensible that a journalist wrote about it.”
Pritzker found it “reprehensible,” that a powerful official such as himself would be called to task by the media and GOP governors over his staggering “rules-for-thee” hypocrisy. We saw this during another visit to Illinois in February where DeSantis talked about the situation being like a cottage industry, where blue state politicians would criticize him for not putting draconian order in place, but then turn around and travel to the state on vacations or extended trips.
DeSantis takes a shot at Pritzker for closing down the state during covid yet Pritzker family members were visiting Florida, which stayed open. pic.twitter.com/dW4EqqlbeK
— Natasha Korecki (@natashakorecki) February 20, 2023
It’s true. It’s true. Murphy was fired, as well as former CNN anchor Don Lemon. Lemon had accused those who oppose vaccine mandates to be “murderers”.
DeSantis is a man who can beat anyone at their own game. This might be why residents of blue states keep flocking to him.
We wrote previously that perhaps the governors of these states could learn from DeSantis’ successes and not bash him.
Given the number of residents fleeing New York and Illinois and flocking to Florida, perhaps Governors Hochul and Pritzker would do well to take their cues from DeSantis before the Florida Man eats their lunch.