If Florida is so bad, then Trump should leave
Tom Joyce
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Former President Donald Trump has lived in Florida since leaving the White House, but he claims not to be a fan of it.
Trump, who changed his residence from Trump Tower in Manhattan to Palm Beach’s Mar-a-Lago in 2019, offered many complaints about the Sunshine State last week.
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“Under Ron DeSantis, Florida has become among the worst states… to live… find economic opportunity… work… retire… raise a family… pay taxes…be safe… rent a home… have a baby… afford energy… die… be a teacher… be a doctor… be a police officer… for millennials… for working dads [and] for working moms,” an April 21 email blast from the Trump campaign said.
Trump’s criticisms were intended to attack Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), who may also run for president and pose a more serious threat to Trump than any other challenger.
However, Trump has the necessary resources to leave Florida. If living in Florida is so bad, then he should leave.
The DeSantis-aligned Never Back Down PAC even offered to help Trump relocate to California so he could live under Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA). Trump claimed he “gets along with” the California liberal earlier this month.
“He was always very nice to me. He said the greatest things. He would say things like, ‘Oh, he’s doing a great job,'” Trump said. “That’s why I could never hit him because he was so nice to me.”
Trump’s attacks on DeSantis make it clear that he sees the sitting governor as a threat. However, attacking Florida as a poorly run state in a Republican primary is idiotic.
While liberals may dislike Florida for many reasons, it appeals to conservatives. Florida lacks a state income tax, a form of taxation that many conservatives oppose, and it offers a lower cost of living than many blue states.
Florida has a cost-of-living rating of 102.8, according to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center. While it has some pricier areas, including Miami and some coastal communities, its overall cost of living is close to the national average of 100. Meanwhile, blue states are far more costly, with Trump’s former state of New York at 134.5, California at 137.6, and Massachusetts at 149.7.
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Not to mention, Florida’s government is standing up for family values, making it a better place to raise a family. DeSantis recently signed a heartbeat bill, which will ban abortion after six weeks; he signed the Parental Rights in Education bill last year, preventing schools from teaching young children woke gender ideology; and he signed a bill in 2021 requiring public schools to provide at least one minute of silence for school prayer.
Maybe Florida is not the right state for Trump, who bashes pro-lifers, said Caitlyn Jenner should use the women’s bathroom at Trump Tower, and failed to name one Bible verse when asked for his favorite one in 2015. Perhaps he would prefer living in an expensive blue state rather than Florida. If that is the case, then he should leave this week. Trump is fortunate to have the necessary resources to pick up and move. No one is forcing him to live in Florida.
Tom Joyce (@TomJoyceSports) is a political reporter for the New Boston Post in Massachusetts.