To the editor:

Gov. DeSantis has now opened the state of Florida, despite acknowledging the COVID pandemic is far from over. This so pleased president Trump, who professes he loves “normal” and wants to see Florida return to “normal”.

Politico stated on 9/25/2020:

“The Republican governor of the president’s must-win battleground state has canceled all state coronavirus restrictions Friday without warning, catching local governments and epidemiologists off-guard amid their own strategies to keep the coronavirus contained.”

DeSantis desperately wants the state to return to “normal,” which is an oxymoron, considering we are still in a pandemic. As anyone with an iota of observation skill can see, Trump is not “normal,”and DeSantis is destined to become a fully-cloned mini-Trump in his eager pursuit of the president’s approval. DeSantis does Trump’s dirty work just as Donald Trump did his father’s dirty work.

Amid the COVID pandemic and the loss of 14,000 Florida lives, there is still one voice of humorous reason, and that is Carl Hiaasen, the revered 30-year columnist for the Miami Herald. He has written extensively about Florida and knows all too well about Florida’s propensity to defy what is considered “normal.” I’m reading Carl’s latest book because I am desperately seeking humor in the current state of abnormal Republican leadership.

Paul Kiefner

Cape Coral