The reelection campaign of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is making bank after finding a way to pull in cash using Democrats who have recently traveled to the Sunshine State to vacation during the pandemic.
Specifically, the DeSantis campaign created a line of merchandise called “Escape to Florida/Lockdown Libs” which appears to be pulling in quite a bit of money.
The campaign features the names and titles of prominent Democrats who have recently visited the state, as BizPac Review reports:
This list includes Rep. Eric Swalwell, D -California, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, CNN host Don Lemon, and more.
To promote their new item, Team DeSantis put together a video that really drives home how successful Florida has been in allowing people to maintain as many freedoms as possible as the world fights the coronavirus.
To the Left’s biggest hypocrites who lock down their own states, but vacation in the free state of Florida: We don't blame you… We like freedom, too. 👀
Introducing the Lockdown Libs Tour Tee, available exclusively at .
— Team DeSantis
Most of the Democrats featured in the campaign supported, or continue to support, COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, vaccine mandates, and other restrictions, most of which DeSantis has refused to implement or has banned.
“It’s interesting the reception that some of these folks will get in Florida,” DeSantis said at a recent press conference, “because I think a lot of Floridians say, ‘Wait a minute you’re bashing us because we’re not doing your draconian policies, and yet we’re the first place you want to flee to, to basically to be able to enjoy life.’
“If I had a dollar for every lockdown politician who decided to escape to Florida over the last two years, I’d be a pretty doggone wealthy man, let me tell you,” he quipped. “I mean, Congresspeople, mayors, governors, I mean you name it.”
The new line of merch follows an earlier line featuring the phrase, “Don’t Fauci My Florida,” a reference to the Biden administration’s top medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
In September, a political ad meant to attack DeSantis actually highlighted his ‘free state’ mentality when it comes to going light on pandemic restrictions.
The Daily Wire reported:
Remove Ron is a PAC launched by Florida attorney Daniel Uhlfelder who gained national attention during the COVID-19 pandemic by walking along Florida’s beaches in a grim reaper outfit in a morbid protest of DeSantis’ decision to leave beaches open. Uhlfelder’s PAC released the attack ad, called the “Florever Purge,” attacking DeSantis for trusting “people to make their own decisions” regarding vaccines and COVID-19.
The ad, based on the movie “The Purge,” opens with a crowd of people flying to Florida on a commercial airplane, watching a warning video of DeSantis condemning “vaccine passports” and promoting individual responsibility. The ad ends with a series of pandemic-related news clips hyping the spread of COVID-19.]
“This reminds me of my recent flight back from CA to FL, and my complete and utter relief at being in a state where the governor says things like ‘We trust people to make their own decisions in this state.’ Honestly, did Ron DeSantis write this commercial?” Daily Wire editor emeritus Ben Shapiro, who lives in the state, wrote on Twitter.