Florida's governor has been caught fudging COVID-19 numbers.
According to NBC Miami, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) distorted the data to justify reopening schools. DeSantis presented data saying that Florida has fewer pediatric cases of COVID-19.
The problem, however, is that DeSantis' data compares Florida children under the age of 14 with children of other states under 20 years-old.
It dramatically skews the results since data shows that COVID-19 is more infectious the older children get.
DeSantis blamed Democrats, saying that they were putting teachers' unions "ahead of the well-being of our children."
"We've been in-person (learning) as much as anybody in the country. And yet we're 34th out of 50 states and DC for COVID-19 cases on a per capita basis for children," he said.
DeSantis claimed that Florida was 34th in the nation for pediatric COVID-19 cases using his skewed data. Comparing all children under 18 nationally and in Florida, the state moved to the 9th worst in the country, NBC 6's analysis said.
The rate DeSantis assigned to Florida, 3,794 cases per 100,000 children, doesn't include anyone over the age of 14. Where the numbers for Ohio are for anyone under the age of 20 and California's numbers are for children under the age of 18.
Conservatives have voiced support for DeSantis as a potential 2024 presidential candidate. His clashes with the media over his handling of the pandemic have "made DeSantis ascendant in the GOP," Politico reported this week.