‘You’re the Most Anti-Business Governor I’ve Ever Seen’: Crist Whacks DeSantis Over Disney and Cruise Industry Kerfuffles

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and former Gov. Charlie Crist (D) clashed in their only debate on Monday night, as the latter went on the offensive by calling DeSantis “anti-business.”

Responding to a question about the pandemic response, Crist said the governor ignored public health experts.

“I would’ve listened to scientists, unlike the governor,” he said. “If he wants to talk about how he reopened this and re-reopened that, you can keep things reopened, but you gotta do it with an eye toward what healthcare providers tell you.”

DeSantis famously had one of the more lax attitudes among governors when it came to implementing Covid-19 restrictions.

“Ron, I wouldn’t pat yourself on the back too much on your response to Covid,” Crist continued. “We’ve lost 82,000 of our fellow Floridians.”

DeSantis replied by slamming Crist’s response.

“He called for harsh lockdowns in July of 2020,” DeSantis began. “And if that had happened in this state, it would’ve destroyed the state of Florida.”

The governor stated that Florida’s tourism industry had “thrived.”

Crist responded by saying Florida had one of the highest Covid death rates in the country. He also dinged DeSantis over his retaliation against Disney World after its executives spoke out against a controversial bill about discussing sexuality in schools. The former governor also hit DeSantis for banning cruise ships from requiring passengers to be vaccinated against Covid-19.

“I’m pro-business,” Crist said. “I wanna make sure we keep our businesses open. I’m not the governor who attacked Walt Disney World because they [dared] to express their point of view. I’m not the governor who attacked the cruise industry because they just wanted to make sure that their customers weren’t sick before they got on the boat. That’s you. You’re the most anti-business governor I’ve ever seen.”

Watch above via WFTV