DeSantis Likens Florida During Pandemic to West Berlin: ‘Even People Who Impose Repressive Policies’ Come to Florida

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) compared Florida to West Berlin during a Monday press conference, citing its policies during the coronavirus pandemic.

“We’re proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish,” DeSantis said at a press conference in Miami, where he signed legislation to regulate who tech companies could ban from their services. “You know, we are effectively America’s West Berlin over the last year, and people have viewed this as a free zone, where not only they move to to follow their dreams, but even if it’s just visiting for a time to escape some of the more repressive policies — and that even includes people that impose repressive policies will still come down to Florida.”

DeSantis took a prominently lax approach toward regulating his state’s residents during the Covid-19 pandemic, lifting his state’s mask mandate in October in 2020 and overturning fines imposed by local municipalities — especially Miami — on residents who violated mandates related to the pandemic.

Florida has experienced 10,757 cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 residents, and a total of 36,473 deaths, according to a count maintained by The New York Times, compared to 10,762 per 100,000 residents in New York, which has had relatively strict policies related to Covid-19. That state has seen 52,591 deaths.

Watch above via WFLA.