Joy Reid mocks Ron DeSantis for touting freedom in Florida, calls the state 'authoritarian'

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Media top headlines January 12

In media news today, Ted Cruz slams a podium after a reporter asked a question about masks, a Washington Post columnist says it’s time to make life a ‘living hell’ for the unvaccinated, and USA Today gets torched for promoting a ‘complicated’ study on pedophilia.

MSNBC's Joy Reid, host of "The Reidout," railed against Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Wednesday over his speech in which he celebrated freedom in the red state amid Democrats continuing to push for further crackdowns to quell the spread of COVID-19. 

In his "State of the State" speech Tuesday, DeSantis commented how Florida is becoming a refuge for those looking to escape "authoritarian, arbitrary and seemingly never-ending mandates and restrictions." He went on to call out the policies he deemed "destructive" and based on "blind adherence" to "Faucian declarations."

Reid accused DeSantis of conducting a natural immunity experiment in his state and for having a reckless disregard for Floridians' health.

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"DeSantis sure loves a talk about freedom, especially the kind that risks the health of people in his own state who have essentially been part of a giant natural herd immunity experiment for the past two years, whether they want to be or not," Reid said.

She went so far as to claim that it was as if "more COVID [cases] was always the goal" for DeSantis. "[A] new report states that 80 percent of Floridians will likely contract omicron at this rate. Which of course, means more customers for Ron's top donors' miracle cure, yay!"

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In Reid's view, however, DeSantis' push against critical race theory, support for abortion restrictions and parents' ability to sue teachers shows that the Republican governor is running an "authoritarian" state.

"If you're not already convinced the Republicans suppressing the vote and taking over the country would seriously harm our democracy, look no further than Ron DeSantis' Florida. What some people call 'DeSantistan' [is] an authoritarian harbinger of what's to come for all of us if Republicans take over this country in total."