When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ new surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, strolled into Sen. Tina Polsky’s office two weeks ago and refused to wear a mask, who’d have thought that the senator would be the one at the center of hate calls and death threats?

Polsky asked Ladapo to don a mask as she is currently in treatment for breast cancer. 

Although Polsky’s gotten a lot of hate calls lately, the call she got most recently was one of the most vile: antisemitic, crude, profanity-laden, and menacing—in other words, a typical Republican tirade when their beliefs are being challenged.

The call lasted about a minute and the unidentified woman caller ended it with, “F**k off and die.” Nothing but the best from the GOP and its supporters. 

Polsky says the worst part is that since the incident with Ladapo in her office, DeSantis has said nothing. 

“The humanity is gone, the compassion is gone, and unfortunately, our leaders do nothing to stop it,’’ Polsky said Wednesday. “They’re picking it up from our leaders and he [DeSantis] needs to stop it. I work for the State of Florida, just like he works for the State of Florida. He doesn’t care about me at all. He had many opportunities.” 

As Miami Herald reported, DeSantis did appear on Fox News with host Laura Ingraham to say that Polsky’s grievance about his anti-mask, anti-vaxxer surgeon general was “manufactured,” and she was “using it to get political air time on Comcast and AT&T.” Classy, governor. Very classy. 

“He just doesn’t care about anyone or anything but his presidential ambitions,’’ Polsky told the Herald. “The governor, the surgeon general, and certainly not these trolls, don’t get to tell me where I’m comfortable and where I feel safe. That’s up to me to decide.”

Florida Senate Leader Wilton Simpson excoriated Florida’s top doctor for his insensitive and irresponsible behavior in the meeting with Polsky.

“It shouldn’t take a cancer diagnosis for people to respect each other’s level of comfort with social interactions during a pandemic,” he said. “What occurred in Senator Polsky’s office was unprofessional and will not be tolerated in the Senate.”

Ladapo, a cardiovascular specialist and lover of hydroxychloroquine, says he can’t “communicate clearly and effectively” with his mouth covered. So I guess he was mute during all the time he worked at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, supposedly caring for patients.

The last time I checked, you need to wear a mask in a hospital around sick people. Did Ladapo miss that class at Harvard Medical School?

Of course, Ladapo’s statement didn’t provide an apology, just an excuse. Why wear a mask? It’s not as if COVID-19 has killed over 58,000 people in Florida. And, there’s always “thoughts and prayers,” the go-to for the GOP. Here’s Ladapo’s version:

“I am genuinely saddened by Senator Polsky’s recent diagnosis of breast cancer, and I pray for her and her family and wish them God’s blessings and strength,” Ladapo tweeted.

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