Watchman: Mistakes Have a Way of Lingering, Refusing to Be Forgotten. Embracing Humility Is Essential. In the Realm of Politics, Regret Is Seldom Met With Rewards. Yet, Voters Saw Fit to Re-Elect Desantis, Recognizing His Strong Leadership. Trump’s Words Fall Short

Despite pressure from the Trump administration, DeSantis decided against the recommendations.

The letter, obtained by the Washington Examiner, was sent three months after DeSantis had lifted all restrictions on restaurants and businesses and banned fines for those who refuse to wear masks. In another letter from Nov. 29, 2020, the Trump administration also recommended Wyoming implement “intensive restrictions,” including “enforceable requirements for face masks and social distancing,” along with “checkpoints” on tribal lands.

The revelation comes amid Trump’s attempts to rewrite his response to the pandemic as he mounts another bid for the White House. Republican voters are still angry about how the pandemic was handled, and Trump doesn’t want to be confronted on his record. It’s a sore spot. His campaign declined to provide the Washington Examiner a comment for the story, which is unusual for them. They don’t typically have a problem with trying to spin things away. Instead, the campaign sent out a flurry of emails aimed at DeSantis. Trump has also propped up South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, claiming she never locked down her state. That’s not to say she didn’t try.

Noem issued an executive order for Minnehaha and Lincoln – two of the largest counties in the state – that certain people “shall stay at home or a place of residence.” Another order instructed “non-essential” public employees to work from home. Another still signed by Noem said that “any enclosed retail business that promotes public gatherings” should “suspend or modify business practices as recommended by CDC guidelines.” Noem instructed schools to close after declaring a state of emergency. She urged people to avoid large public events, like a race in North Sioux City, and expressed support for businesses wishing to implement vaccine mandates, dismissing Republican detractors as “chasing headlines.”

That Noem couldn’t do more was likely due to the resistance she encountered from South Dakotans. But whitewashing her record has been useful to Noem and Trump. Indeed, though it’s all but forgotten now, the January 2021 letter wasn’t the only time Trump told DeSantis to take a harder stance on COVID-19.

On the “Ruthless” podcast, the governor said he initially disagreed with Trump on locking down the country at the start of the pandemic. He criticized Anthony Fauci early on and said he was surprised by Trump’s decision to effectively shutter the economy.

The New York Times reported on April 1, 2020, that DeSantis initially resisted implementing statewide restrictions. Then he got a call from the White House.

“What it took for Mr. DeSantis to change his mind,” wrote Maggie Haberman, Trump’s reporter of choice, “and finally issue a statewide order were a phone call with President Trump and a grave reckoning.” The day before, the White House warned that “without a national commitment to immediate, drastic action in every state,” there would be a kind of doomsday scenario.

That call altered the trajectory of Florida’s response to the pandemic.

It’s true DeSantis initially implemented some restrictions. But Trump’s White House urged him to do so, and Trump personally called him about it. Recall that the media attacked DeSantis in March 2020 for refusing to close Florida’s beaches. When he issued an order for Palm Beach County and Broward County on March 20, he noted that it had been recommended by Trump’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Trump signed a proclamation declaring COVID-19 a “national emergency, beginning March 1, 2020,” on March 13. In April 2020, Trump tweeted that “It is the decision of the President,” not any governor, to reopen a state.

But DeSantis swiftly changed course in Florida, turning the state around. Trump openly praised him for doing so through June, July, August, and September that year. And, in what now seems incredibly ironic, Trump explicitly applauded DeSantis in October 2020 for not shutting down the state. “We had surges, and they went up and they went down, and now you’re at your lowest numbers,” Trump said. “And you’re open and you didn’t close, and you’re just amazing – right, this guy?”

DeSantis, as we now know, rebuffed subsequent appeals from the Trump administration to return Florida to red alert mode. The governor also said on “Ruthless” that he regrets not being “much louder” about opposing the initial shutdown in March 2020.

Regret isn’t easy. It requires admitting mistakes. Politics doesn’t typically reward regret. But DeSantis was rewarded by voters with re-election for his leadership. Trump can’t say the same.