A petition calling for the recall of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R- Florida) has garnered over 55,000 signatures, as of 1 PM Eastern Time Monday.
The petition, which was created last year, recently gained thousands of signatures within a matter of a few days, due to DeSantis’s handling of the worsening COVID-19 situation in Florida.
Citing his failures in administering unemployment benefits to state residents as well as his mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic in the state, the petition notes that DeSantis, alongside Sen. Rick Scott (R-Florida), “have made filing for unemployment in Florida impossible.” DeSantis also “waited until the last minute to issue a stay at home order which without a doubt caused the Coronavirus to spread much faster than necessary,” and the governor “went directly against [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidelines and allowed churches to still have large gatherings,” the petition adds.
“He is not fit to be our governor and needs to be removed as quickly as the constitution allows,” the petition concludes.
Unfortunately for the tens of thousands of signers of the petition, there is no legal way that DeSantis can be recalled from his current office, as Florida’s recall law is only applicable to local government officials.
However, with DeSantis up for re-election in 2022, the explosion in signatures in recent days casts a shadow over his prospects. It may also hurt his future ambitions — many have noted that DeSantis appears to be looking at a possible GOP nomination run for the presidency in 2024.
Recent polling numbers from a survey conducted for FloridaPolitics.com found that DeSantis is currently underwater when it comes to residents’ evaluation of his actions. Just 43.7 percent of Floridians say DeSantis is performing the functions of his office in an helpful way, while 48.5 percent of the state say they disapprove of his handling of his duties, the poll found.
The poll also suggested that the vast majority in the state disagree with DeSantis’s moves to bar local governments from enforcing rules on masking. Sixty-two percent of Florida residents, the poll found, believe schools should require masks, while less than 32 percent of respondents said they disagreed with such a requirement.
Over the past few weeks, Florida has become one of the hardest-hit states in the country regarding the coronavirus pandemic. The state is averaging around 21,000 new cases of COVID-19 each day, a rate that is higher than at any other time during the crisis that began in the spring of 2020. It’s hospitalization rates are also at record highs, and the rate of deaths being reported per day rivals other peaks seen in the state during the pandemic.
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
Last week, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.
We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment. We are presently looking for 350 new monthly donors in the next 6 days.
We’re with you. Let’s do all we can to move forward together.
With love, rage, and solidarity,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy