Video: Charlie Crist Calls Ron DeSantis a “Dictator” and Immediately Regrets It

Charlie who?

You know. The once-Republican Florida Governor turned independent turned Congressman now turned Democratic candidate for governor running against Republican Ron DeSantis. That Charlie Crist.

Fresh off winning the Democratic primary this week, Crist hit the campaign trail in his futile effort to unseat DeSantis and return Florida to the “blue column” this November.

So far, his early attacks haven’t exactly landed any punches:

Charlie Crist exuded a smooth confidence as he bounded into the room, a conference hall at a teachers union building in downtown Tampa, Florida, earlier this month.

He may be facing a primary election to be the Democratic candidate in the next gubernatorial election, but Crist’s focus seems already set on the general in November – and the far-right Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, he hopes to unseat.

“I’m not one to use those sort of strong words, unless they’re true. And in this case, it’s true,” Crist said. “We need to realize what this guy is doing. He wants to be president of the United States, and he’s using Florida as his proving ground to do it.

“He’s a barbaric, wannabe dictator.”

DeSantis is the dictator? The guy who literally refused to shut down his state or do insane things like close beaches due to an airborne virus that spreads more easily indoors? The guy who refused to let workers be burdened or fired with a vaccine mandate?

Compared to what, exactly? The President who said you need a Covid shot to keep your job?

Yes, that dictator.

DeSantis responded and laid it out as such leaving Crist baking in the Florida sun, a place where he clearly spends a lot of time:

Reporter to Governor DeSantis: "[Charlie Crist] says you're a dictator. How do you respond to that?"

His reaction is priceless ? pic.twitter.com/ta6uiRmSEn

— DeSantis War Room ? #FloridaStrong (@DeSantisWarRoom) August 25, 2022

Democrats should know better than to attack DeSantis as a “dictator” when the entire Democratic Party turned into the party of lockdowns and mandates from 2020 onward.

As noted, Crist’s name is on a letter asking DeSantis to shutdown Florida for the good of Covid:

The letter from Charlie Crist and other Florida Democrats demanding lockdowns and statewide mask mandates in July 2020 was originally posted on former Rep. Shalala’s website. It has since been deleted.

Here is the Archive link: https://t.co/6arQnDndxG pic.twitter.com/VlOJpyi6DC

— DeSantis War Room (@DeSantisWarRoom) August 25, 2022

It was blue states telling citizens what to do while they shut down churches, gyms, and other businesses but left liquor stores open.

You stay in your house but these people can parade up and down the street because their social justice cause is more important than your freedom or right to earn a living. That’s when the “science” went out the window and it was abundantly clear that Covid policies were pliable depending on who they were being imposed upon.

The dictatorial tendencies of the last couple of years have all come from Democrat politicians high on a power they’d never seen before. In the name of public health, they could declare anything, shut down anything, mandate anything, and chastise anyone on the grounds of an “emergency” situation that no one could second-guess or question.

So, in closing, Charlie Crist is running an uphill campaign and clearly unprepared for the battle that lies ahead. Call DeSantis plenty of things but playing the role of “dictator” is not one of them.