Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced his presidential bid Wednesday night in a live broadcast on Twitter that was delayed by technical difficulties and peppered with occasionally misleading claims.
Here’s a fact check on some of his claims.
what was said
“Biden also politicized the military and caused recruitment to plummet.”
This lacks evidence. Military leaders recently warned that various branches of the military are struggling to meet recruiting targets, but the reasons they cited have little to do with President Biden. That is, many younger Americans simply don’t qualify.
A 2020 Pentagon study found that only 23 percent of 17- to 24-year-olds can meet service standards, with many failing military entrance exams or mental and fitness tests. That rate decreased by 6 percent from the previous study in 2017.
Army leaders addressed the recruiting issues at a congressional hearing in April, noting that the issue has been ongoing.
“The difficult recruiting landscape we are facing didn’t happen in a year, and it will take us more than a year to change it,” said Christine Wormuth, Secretary of the Army.
Ms. Wormuth also noted that a Pentagon survey of 2,400 people ages 16 to 28 had asked about obstacles to enlisting. Respondents cited fear of injury and death as the top concern, while cultural and political issues, “waking up in the military or the Covid vaccine mandate, for example, were relatively low on the list of barriers to the service,” he said.
what was said
“In Florida, our crime rate is at its lowest level in 50 years. If you look at the top 25 crime cities in America, Florida is not in the top 25.”
This is largely true. The state’s crime rate fell to a 50-year low in 2021, but DeSantis leaves out a big caveat: Many law enforcement agencies in the state have switched to a different reporting methodology, and the data is provisional and incomplete in many cases. , The Tampa Bay Times reported.
Data from just 59 percent of Florida agencies covering 57.5 percent of the population was used for the state’s total aggregate crime rate in 2021. That reflects a national trend: Nationwide, nearly 40 percent of law enforcement agencies did not report 2021 crime data because of the new methodology.
No Florida city ranked near the top in the violent crime rate compiled by private companies and the media. But it’s worth noting that the Federal Bureau of Investigation and criminal justice experts have also long advised against comparing crime rates between cities, given the wide variation in population size and demographics.
what was said
“Probably nobody made Disney more money than me because they were open during Covid. And they closed in California and that went on for many, many months where I literally opened every theme park in Florida in 2020.”
This is exaggerated. Disney World in Florida closed on March 15, 2020, along with all other Disney theme parks around the world. It reopened in July, after being closed for four months. Disney resorts in Paris, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo also reopened in 2020 after being closed for months. Disneyland in California reopened on April 30, 2021, after a year-long closure, the longest among Disney resorts, once the state allowed theme parks to welcome back visitors.
Mr. DeSantis is also downplaying his own actions during the coronavirus pandemic. He issued an executive order on April 1, 2020, directing all Florida residents to “limit your movements and personal interactions outside your home to only those that are necessary.” While the order did not explicitly close theme parks, it limited openings to essential services and activities and prohibited gatherings of more than 10 people. The order expired on May 1.
what was said
“The whole book ban thing is a hoax. There has not been a single book banned in the state of Florida. You can go buy or use the book you want.”
This is misleading. There hasn’t been a statewide ban on a book, but Mr. DeSantis is vastly downplaying the extent to which individual school districts and libraries in parts of the state have removed books. In fact, Florida ranks second, behind Texas, for the most banned state with 357, according to PEN America, a nonprofit organization that supports free speech.
Legislation signed by Mr. DeSantis limiting discussion of sexual orientation, gender identity, and race has led teachers and administrations to recall books.
Books that have been pulled from shelves in Florida include a picture book about two male penguins raising a chick, Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye” and Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
