I cannot begin to tell you how much I adore Gov. Ron DeSantis, especially after he triggered the media so splendidly on Wednesday.

How It All Started

It all started in Tampa when DeSantis held a news conference to announce the creation of cybersecurity jobs. But that’s not what the media paid attention to. All they saw was the Guv ordering the high school students standing behind him to take off their masks. And the media went apoplectic.

Did DeSantis seem perturbed that the students showed up with masks? You bet. Like the rest of us, he’s also tired of the mask kabuki theater. Plus, he also knows that the optics would be awful if he were to stand maskless at a podium while the kids behind him had their faces covered. Like what happened with Stacey Abrams last month. Remember how she grinned for the cameras sans mask with masked school kids behind her? She tweeted the image, and then quickly deleted it. DeSantis knows better.

But if you’d listen to our betters in the media, you’d think that Ron DeSantis is the Worst Person in the World.

Media Freaks Out Over DeSantis

Let’s review some of reactions of the pearl clutchers in both the mainstream and entertainment press, shall we?

First, here’s Chris Cillizza, Editor-at-large for the failing CNN’s politics page:

“Ron DeSantis just yelled at high school students for wearing masks.”

But that was mild. The rest of the media tried to outdo each other for venom points. Huffington Post called him a “bully:”

“Gov. Ron DeSantis Bullies Teens Into Taking Off Masks For Press Conference.” 

HuffPo wasn’t the only media outlet that used the bully meme. Entertainment site Uproxx said that not only did the governor “bully” the students, he ended up being “dragged” for it, the evil bastard!

“Ron DeSantis Dragged For A Video In Which He Bullies A Bunch Of Students Into Taking Off Their Masks”

While Daily Beast went a step further and called him a “cowardly” bully:

“Ron DeSantis Isn’t a Tough Guy, Just Another Cowardly Bully”

So how big of a coward is he? Let’s allow the Beast to tell us:

“In fact, DeSantis is such a coward, so terrified of his own party’s anti-COVID vaccine base, that he won’t say one way or the other if he’s received a booster shot.”

Wow, he won’t tell us if he’s had his booster shot. That’ll leave a mark on his political career! *insert eye roll*

But the most triggered media source was the supposedly sophisticated Vanity Fair, which not only called DeSantis an “asshole,” but a “smug asshole.”

“Ron DeSantis, Smug Asshole, Takes Time Out of His Day To Yell At Students Wearing Masks” 

And speaking of assholes, the ever-execrable congressman Rep. Eric Swalwell went there too:

I don’t understand this. Why be an asshole to kids? I hate masks and stopped wearing it as soon as the restriction was lifted. But who cares if someone else wants to wear one for their own reason? Isn’t that freedom? https://t.co/Tt42uGni44

— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) March 2, 2022

Let’s See Who the Mask Bullies Really Are

So let’s get this straight. According to the media, Ron DeSantis is a “bully” and an “asshole” for telling teens to take off their masks at his presser.

But who’s been bullying people about masks for the past two years? That’s right — the CDC, their media handmaidens, and paranoid Covidians who cling to their every word.

As Physics Geek noted at Twitter:

Karen: WEAR A MASK OR YOU'LL KILL SOMEONE!

Karen 2: WEAR A MASK OR YOU'LL KILL SOMEONE!

Karen ad infinitum: WEAR A MASK OR YOU'LL KILL SOMEONE!

DeSantis: Wear one if you want, but they're a waste of time.

Karen: STOP MASK SHAMING THEM.

— Physics Geek (@physicsgeek) March 2, 2022

And look what happened to a nine-year-old girl who showed up at school last month without a mask. The Vice Principal locked her out of the school in the cold. The woman’s response? “I’m just doing my job.”

Where have we heard that before? The Nuremberg Trials, maybe? “I vass just following orderss.” 

A 9 year old girl was locked outside in the cold and prevented from entering her classroom for not wearing a mask.

When the Vice Principal was questioned she responded, “I’m just doing my job.” pic.twitter.com/tJc0TJgvSP

— Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) February 26, 2022

Gov. DeSantis is right: it’s time to stop the mask hysteria, and increasing numbers of Americans agree. As British psychologist Gary Sidley wrote:

“More and more people in the US will be wising up to their government’s use of behavioural science – or ‘nudging’ – as a means of increasing compliance with Covid-19 restrictions.”

Then There’s His Comment About France

But the governor didn’t stop with his criticisms of masks during his speech in Tampa. He also mused that if the Russians invaded France, they’d probably just roll over.

Sacré bleu!

“A lot of other places around the world, they just fold the minute there’s any type of adversity. If (Putin) went into France, do you think they’d do anything to put up a fight? Probably not.”

So what’s the problem? Didn’t Simpsons character Willie the Groundskeeper call the French “Cheese-eating surrender monkeys?” And remember when Monty Python made caricatures of the French in “Monty Python and Holy Grail?”

Credit: Wifflegif.com.

But the New York Daily News wasn’t about to let it slide. They sniffed that “there was no evidence” for the wisecrack, and besides, DeSantis isn’t virtue-signaling like other governors and companies doing silly things to somehow punish Putin for invading Ukraine.

“DeSantis has even refused to call for boycotts or bans on sales of Russian-made alcohol products, breaking ranks with fellow GOP governors who have done so.”

Or like the Florida supermarket chain Publix that’s removing all vodka from its shelves. Because “Publix stands with the people of Ukraine.”

Yeah, that’s kind of like people who threw out their Nikes because of Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling antics. As Christina Pushaw, DeSantis’s spokeswoman said:

“Products that are currently on store shelves were already imported and purchased, so throwing them out at this point would be a loss for Florida retailers, not for Vladimir Putin.”

She’s right, you know.

DeSantis Slept Through Biden’s SOTU

As if Ron DeSantis’s statements at the press conference couldn’t get more outrageous, he even admitted to sleeping during parts of Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.

“I watched most of the State of the Union. I did fall asleep during it, I confess. But you know, I got three kids 5 and under, so a lot of times when it gets past nine, we’re a little tired.”

Makes sense. If you’re currently a parent of young kids, or have ever been a parent of littles, you know the struggle. But Newsweek didn’t just report that DeSantis dozed during that fustercluck of a speech — they made it a headline:

“Ron DeSantis Says He Fell Asleep During SOTU Address”

Not only that, but the Newsweek story led off with the account, too. Farther into the article we find out that the governor talked about high gas prices and inflation. But sleeping through the SOTU — that was the clickbait that Newsweek wanted.

Are you loving Ron DeSantis about now? The man has no fear of the media. He calls things as he sees them, and doesn’t give a rat’s patoot if he offends the media. The media know this, too, so they will seek out any bit of frippery they can find so they can politically destroy him.

But recall this bit of wisdom the late Rush Limbaugh bestowed on us: They tell you whom they fear. And they really fear Ron DeSantis.

Featured image: Gage Skidmore/flickr/cropped/CC BY-SA 2.0.