SANFORD, Fla. (WTXL) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was spotted on camera giving high-fives to a multiple people Monday at President Donald Trump's first rally since his coronavirus diagnosis.
DeSantis did not appear to be wearing a mask in a now viral clip showing him slapping hands with a line of people before appearing to touch his face.
The clip made its rounds on social media, drawing ire from many.
.@GovRonDeSantis is giving maskless high fives at a @realDonaldTrump rally in Sanford, meanwhile we’re working on unemployment claim & trying to get people paid their benefits from a system that broke under his watch & is still broken. https://t.co/ifOefXKxGO
— Rep. Anna V. Eskamani 🔨 (@AnnaForFlorida) October 12, 2020
Pictures and video from Monday night's rally showed that attendees were packed shoulder-to-shoulder and masks were few.
During his rally, Trump joked that he was healthy enough to plunge into the Florida crowd and give voters “a big fat kiss.”
The President has praised DeSantis in the past for his response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida. Most recently, DeSantis moved the state into Phase Three of Florida's Safe. Smart. Step-by-Step. plan, which lifted capacity restrictions for most indoor venues and barred counties from fining people for violating local mask rules.
