He’s a New Yorker by birth and branding, but President Trump officially moved to Florida in 2019, a decision that made financial sense. Manhattan residents now face a top income tax of 14.8%, plus a top estate tax of 16%. Florida has neither. But as the 2024 primaries near, Mr. Trump has suddenly decided it’s in his interest to claim that Florida is really a high-tax hellhole.

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The Trump release includes links to news reports and left-leaning studies claiming that Florida is unaffordable and unsafe, with low teacher pay, a “failing education system,” a “failing medical environment,” and much more. “ESPN wrote that Florida is the Worst State in The Nation To Die,” the statement says. Is Mr. Trump in the habit of taking policy advice from ESPN? Or was some intern told to do a Google search for this amateur hit job?

Some of the statistics come from groups with progressive agendas. Mr. Trump cites a 2022 Oxfam report that says Florida is the 29th best state for workers. But this scorecard dings states that have a “so-called ‘right-to-work’ law (which suppresses union activity).” Another factor is “statewide policies on collective bargaining for public workers.” Florida also loses points because it doesn’t allow “localities to implement their own minimum wage laws.”

Mr. Trump cites the Florida Policy Institute, which demands “Driver’s License Equity” by allowing “(undocumented) immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses.” Wasn’t immigration Mr. Trump’s signature issue in 2016? They say politics makes strange bedfellows, but Mr. Trump’s one-night stand with this outfit is bizarre.

Many of the rankings in Mr. Trump’s statement come from the website WalletHub. To take one example, Florida is 26th on its list of best states for working moms. That assessment is based on an analysis of “17 relevant metrics” that were given different weights, everything from the “Gender-Representation Gap in Different Economic Sectors” to “Pediatricians per Capita.” Take this kind of study with a shaker of salt.

Not mentioned by Mr. Trump are many WalletHub rankings that put Mr. DeSantis’s state near the top. Florida has been listed as the No. 2 best state in which to retire, No. 2 for starting a business, No. 2 for fewest coronavirus restrictions, No. 2 “most fun” state, No. 4 best for teachers, No. 6 for low taxes, and No. 7 for best state to live in overall. Mr. Trump’s own behavior demonstrates that Florida remains the No. 1 state for retiring as a billionaire ex-President.

That gets to the bigger point, which is what economists call revealed preferences. Whatever WalletHub says, hundreds of thousands of Americans are moving to Florida because they think they can build better lives there. The latest Census Bureau numbers say that Florida gained a net 318,855 people via migration from July 2021 to July 2022, making it the top state by far in the competition for U-Hauls. People see opportunity in Florida, and competent conservative leadership is one reason.

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Since Mr. DeSantis became Governor in 2019, Florida has expanded school choice, and a bill passed in March will make its program universal, enabling any family to participate. Mr. DeSantis has cut billions of dollars in taxes. Under his leadership, Florida reopened early from the Covid-19 pandemic. “We insisted on keeping schools open and guaranteed in-person learning in 2020 because we knew there would be widespread harm to our students if students were locked out,” he said last year.

Florida is a model of successful GOP governance, and Republicans should be arguing they can do the same for the country if voters put them in charge of Washington. Instead Mr. Trump is borrowing lefty tropes and sources and making the same kinds of attacks on Florida that President Biden would. Who needs Democrats with Mr. Trump around? He is proving again that he has no fixed policy principles. If he somehow wins a second term in the White House, it will be unmoored from anything but personal loyalty to Mr. Trump.

The funniest part about Mr. Trump’s effort to claim Florida is a dump? He still lives there. If he’s really miserable, why not relocate to one of his homes in New York or New Jersey?

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Source: DeSantis’s Florida Is a Dump, Says President Trump – WSJ