GOP governors share COVID reopening success stories on 'Hannity' exclusive
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem says Republican states are 'growing,' 'thriving'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Several Republican governors joined "Hannity" for an exclusive town hall on Wednesday night to discuss face-to-face how exactly their leadership brought their states safely to the other side of a global crisis.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem recalled never closing a single business during the pandemic while the rest of the nation’s small businesses went under in tragic numbers.
"We didn’t even define what an essential business was," she said. "Because according to the oath I took to the South Dakota Constitution, the U.S. Constitution, I didn’t believe I had the authority to tell anybody that their business wasn’t essential."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Noem mentioned that today, her state recorded the fastest growing GDP in the country at 9.9% and unemployment at 2.8% by consistently installing conservative principles.
"Leadership has consequences," she said. "And you just look at Democrat states and what happened to families of businesses there; you look at Republican states and how they’re growing and they’re thriving… it works for the American people."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said perhaps the biggest "tragedy" from the left is locking kids out of schools and denying them in-person education, while DeSantis made it a priority to reopen classroom learning.
"This is politics and ideology and, quite frankly, it’s a disgrace," he said. "Some of these kids are not going to have a future as a result of those bad policies."
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee explained that parents in his state have the power to choose whether or not to send their children to school. Lee said Tennessee was able to cut taxes this year as well as welcome new businesses that were attracted to looser regulations.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds expressed her focus on keeping food processing plants up and running throughout the pandemic since Iowa farmers produce more than 10% of the nation’s food supply.
"We were able to keep our economy open," she said. "We were able to balance the lives and livelihoods of Iowans and we were able to do it in a responsible manner. And all of us were able to do that and I think we’re reaping the benefits of that today because we’re coming back stronger than ever."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said he believes the reason GOP governors found success was their initial ability to earn public trust with "transparency and communication."