Gov. DeSantis tells students to remove their masks at an event [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told a group of high school students to remove their masks during an appearance at a university.
• DeSantis was heard saying, “We’ve gotta stop with this COVID theater.”
• The governor was captured in a video saying that “this is ridiculous.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told a group of high school students to junk their “ridiculous” masks before a press conference Wednesday.

DeSantis was set to address cybersecurity during an appearance at the University of South Florida in Tampa when he noted a row of kids stationed behind the podium for backdrop purposes.

“You do not have to wear those masks,” DeSantis told the Middleton High School students in footage from the local NBC affiliate. “Please take them off. Honestly, it’s not doing anything. We’ve gotta stop with this Covid theater. So if you wanna wear it, fine, but this is ridiculous.”

Some of the kids can be seen sheepishly removing the facial coverings and grinning after the stern gubernatorial advisory.

DeSantis then turned back to the podium with an irritated sigh before kicking off the press conference.

The exchange later drew a response from Hillsborough Schools Superintendent Addison Davis.

“As always, our students should be valued and celebrated,” Davis said. “It is student and parents choice to protect their health in a way they feel is most appropriate. We are proud of the manner in which our students represented themselves and our school district.”

But the volleys didn’t end there. DeSantis’s press secretary, Christina Pushaw, said that the governor wanted there to be no doubt as to his current position on masks.

“After two years of mixed messages from health authorities and the media, the governor wants to make sure everyone is aware of the facts and data now, so they can feel free and comfortable without a mask,” she said in a statement after the incident.

Pushaw also noted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was rolling back most masking advisories.

Known for his rejection of mask requirements and vaccine mandates, DeSantis draws both fierce loyalty and staunch opposition in the Sunshine State.

Source: New York Post