Axios acknowledges — extremely grudgingly — that Ron DeSantis might not be the devil, and now they're taking heat from both sides

BREAKING NEWS, EVERYONE: Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis might not be the devil after all.

Axios is on it:

Even some Florida Democrats are wondering whether Gov. Ron DeSantis' widely panned COVID response might turn out to be right. https://t.co/DJ5jVaGqvj

— Axios (@axios) March 15, 2021

You don’t say.

https://t.co/pC8186h98H pic.twitter.com/EObj7FNeAc

— Fusilli Spock (@awstar11) March 15, 2021

https://t.co/t93m8yT5GX pic.twitter.com/tIVSaLsS8P

— Krystle Baker (@TarheelKrystle) March 15, 2021

I have lots of Dem family members and friends here in Fla. None of them are complaining about the DeSantis response. Especially those with kids in school as they hear horror stories from locked-down states. https://t.co/bOvXlCGLyR

— Greg Pollowitz (@GPollowitz) March 15, 2021

More and more people realizing that Ron DeSantis really does deserve an apology https://t.co/HIjzv40q4s

— Rich Lowry (@RichLowry) March 15, 2021

He may deserve an apology, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to just get one. Not without getting smacked around a little more, anyway.

"widely panned" https://t.co/7WvYb3LnCc

— George_Smith (@P1_W_Michigan) March 15, 2021

It's been very narrowly panned. https://t.co/x8EfIRkhWR

— I got your #Unity right here (@jtLOL) March 15, 2021

"widely panned' = narrowly panned by hackish writers invested in a bullshit narrative https://t.co/dP6dHka7oV

— Physics Geek (@physicsgeek) March 15, 2021

In the real world, with average bipartisan Americans, it's been celebrated to the hilt. Among the corrupt media and other hard-core Democrat activists, yes, it has been "panned," in part to help with their Cuomo praise. https://t.co/g0rcjwYghG

— Mollie (@MZHemingway) March 15, 2021

After a solid year of living with a pandemic, the national press is beginning to ask the question that even Democrats have been quietly pondering in the Sunshine State: Was Gov. Ron DeSantis’ pandemic response right for Florida?

Don’t forget: More than 32,000 Floridians have died, a number the state’s leaders rarely acknowledge, but our death rate is no worse than the national average — and better than some states with tighter restrictions.

Don’t forget that Floridians have died!

Not sure anyone — including Ron DeSantis — has forgotten that, but OK.

Our thought bubble: We’ve long known that the state’s pro-business Republican leadership was making a sort of grand bargain: that the death toll was the price paid for keeping commerce flowing and keeping kids in school.

The closer you are to either loss or to the fullness of life will likely determine how you feel about the state’s response.

"We've long known that the state's pro-business Republican leadership was making a sort of grand bargain: that the death toll was the price paid for keeping commerce flowing and keeping kids in school."

That is not the lesson anyone would take away from this piece unprompted. https://t.co/reo8tQitfw

— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) March 15, 2021

Which is why it must be prompted, I suppose.

— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) March 15, 2021

Heh.

You can tell Axios is having a really difficult time acknowledging that Ron DeSantis might not be as horrible as the media said he was.

https://t.co/ZOScfF8jpQ pic.twitter.com/wZwzaz5iJg

— Noam Blum (@neontaster) March 15, 2021

And some people are having an even more difficult time with that:

No. It's not right. He covered up the number of deaths and cases. He attacked whistleblowers. And he purposefully made every aspect of the pandemic worse in Florida than it otherwise should be.

Oh, and now he's distributing vaccines based on support for him.

— lawhawk #maskingforafriend (@lawhawk) March 15, 2021

So people needlessly dying is ok ?

— JP (@HiketheATNJ) March 15, 2021

They're going to find a pit filled with dead old people

— Broken Remote (@broken_remote) March 15, 2021

This is shameful. People are dead. More to come

— Tammy LI (@Luelue1) March 15, 2021

Obviously Axios is in the tank for Ron DeSantis.

Did a spokesperson from the governor’s office help you with that research?

— Alan Cosgrove (@fantasypolitics) March 15, 2021

NyTimes and now Axios. Looks like the selling DeSantis 2024 tour has officially begun.

— Missy? (@mgallo31) March 15, 2021

There’s Axios commercialing for Republicans

— KimD (@KimDonovanK2) March 15, 2021

When you dedicate your news coverage to slamming a politician from the wrong party and then have to admit that maybe you jumped the gun a little bit, expect to receive some pushback from the people you originally set out to please.