MAGA-aligned U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) is being criticized for complaining about his state’s unemployment rate. On Wednesday the former Sunshine State governor wrote: “Florida’s unemployment rate is ABOVE the national average and it’s only GROWING. The latest state jobs numbers show we lost over 43k jobs all in critical industries. Florida had one of the worst performing job markets over the past year. Our state needs to stay focused on adding private sector jobs and driving down cost of living — just like President Trump is trying to do across the country.”
Scott’s post is receiving a variety of responses, including sarcasm from Nikki Fried, chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party, who replied: “Hmmm….who has been in charge?”
[NOTE: The last Democrat to serve as Florida governor was Lawton Chiles, who was in office from January 1991 until his death in December 1998.]
Hmmm….who has been in charge? https://t.co/0Hh9WN55Og
— Nikki Fried (@NikkiFried) April 22, 2026
Florida state Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, a Democrat, replied: “Sadly, we’re not focused on that, Senator. When the economy falters, when jobs disappear, the GOP focus is grievance.” Smith included an image of an Orlando Sentinel article entitled: “DeSantis signs Florida law banning local DEI funding, says white men are ‘disfavored.’”
Conservative Joel Griffith, former Heritage Foundation fellow now at Mike Pence‘s organization Advancing American Freedom, defended DeSantis. Taking a not-so-veiled swipe at President Trump’s controversial tariff policy, Griffith wrote: “Under @RonDeSantis’ solid leadership, private sector jobs growth in Florida is nearly 2x the national total since the start of 2020: 11.3% vs 5.7%. This past year, private sector employment nationwide stagnated, partly due to the tariff drag on the economy.”