Actor Billy Baldwin said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is responsible for fewer visitors coming to the state.
Taking to social media, Baldwin alluded to various policies by DeSantis, who is competing to be the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, suggesting they have had detrimental consequences.
"Thousands of tourists and conventions fleeing Florida as Category 5 Hurricane DeSantis' anti LGBTQ, immigration and conceal carry policies have turned Florida into an anti woke, broke, joke. Is Florida the Bud Light of tourism?" Baldwin asked on Twitter on Saturday.
The post was accompanied by a gif clip of Bugs Bunny cutting Florida off from the rest of the U.S.
In response, one Twitter user suggested Baldwin was wrong, and included a snapshot of headlines from 2022 showing Florida's success with tourists.
"Not 2022. Not yesterday. Today, tomorrow, 2024 and beyond," Baldwin replied along with a TikTok compilation video of Florida business owners commenting on the waning tourism industry.
Baldwin's views on Florida provoked a huge reaction.
Among Baldwin's critics was comedian Larry the Cable Guy, who disagreed with his "dumb" take.
"Honestly c'mon man. The only talk going on around here is how crowded it's gotten and what used to take 17 minutes to go 4 miles now takes 25. Its actually too crowded. You ain't gotta be head cashier at Walmart to figure out this is bs," he wrote on Twitter.
"Florida is in the top 3 states people are flocking to permanently & for vacation," added author Melissa Tate along with a confused gif.
"Funny. We are breaking tourism records everyday," Twitter user Nikki Mac chimed in. "And people are still moving here in droves. Try again billy."
Another Twitter user pointed out that approximately 34.6 million domestic visitors vacationed in Florida in the first quarter of 2023: "About 1.8 million international visitors also traveled to Florida, an increase of 36% from the previous year, the closest that the state has been to full recovery of overseas visitors since lockdowns began in March 2020."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.