- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that the flags will be flown at half-mast to honor Rush Limbaugh.
- Limbaugh, the conservative and often offensive radio host, died this week at age 70.
- His announcement provoked an immediate reaction from the Democrats.
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican and staunch critic of President Joe Biden, announced on Friday that state flags would be raised in a personal way to honor the late personality of Radio Rush Limbaugh.
“What do we do when there are things of this magnitude, once the burial date for Rush is announced, we will lower the flags to half the team,” said DeSantis at a political rally on Friday in West Palm Beach, The Tampa Report from the Bay Times.
As the Times noted, DeSantis had recently flown flags with half the staff when Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died in September and again in January, when five people were killed as a result of the US Capitol insurrection.
According to state protocol, flags are lowered on holidays in honor of veterans, if a current or former Florida governor dies, if a Florida military officer dies while on active duty, if a present or former state official in Florida. highlight dying, or if a policeman or fireman is killed in the line of duty, The Tampa Bay Times reported.
A Florida resident may request that the flags be lowered to honor another person, but it is not clear whether this happened in this case, according to the report. The Florida governor’s office did not immediately return Insider’s request for comment on Saturday.
The decision was quickly condemned by Democrats in Florida.
“Lowering the flag of the United States is a great honor reserved for those who have honorably and bravely served our state and our nation,” state senator Gary Farmer said in a statement. “Unfortunately, Governor DeSantis has now turned this distinction into a political party tool to greet a man who has not served any interest other than his own and has done his utmost to deeply divide a country along political lines.”
Florida deputy Debbie Wasserman Shultz, former head of the Democratic National Committee, called the decision “a shame for Florida” and said: “Limbaugh used his platform as a weapon to spread racism, xenophobia and homophobia across the country. parents”.
—Debbie Wasserman Schultz (@DWStweets) February 19, 2021
“Florida is better than that,” said Rep. Ted Deutch, who called the move “disgusting” and “embarrassing” for Florida.
Limbaugh died on Wednesday at the age of 70. In February 2020, Limbaugh announced that he had been diagnosed in the previous month with advanced lung cancer.
The late talk show host last year received the President al Freedom Medal by President Donald Trump in his final speech on the state of the union, which also drew a widespread reaction from figures on the left.
Limbaugh was known for his bold comments and was known as a key figure in the development of key tenants of the modern Republican Party and their far-right postures and attitudes. But Limbaugh was controversial and widely hated by Democrats for his broadcast of sexist, racist and homophobic comments during his radio program.