So, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is in a bit of a quagmire right now. He has recently taken credit for sending 50 Venezuelan migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, and he has received a mountain of pushback over it. In fact, the mudslinging that has ensued since this stunt has included such gentle terms as “fraud,” “kidnapper,” and even “human trafficker.” However, I only find one term suitable for Gov. DeSantis. The man is a total derp. To define this funny-sounding meme word, calling someone a derp means that they are terrible at whatever they do, and even if they are competent, they think regardless of the consequences. That second part definitely throws DeSantis under this umbrella, especially after his recent forcefully relocating dozens of migrants for political points.

However, to examine the levels of agony Florida and the nation have had to deal with since he got elected, we must first examine where it all began. This story begins in the electoral cycle of 2018, where he went up against a Democrat by the name of Andrew Gillum. DeSantis may or may not have used racial innuendos against his rival on the path to a narrow victory. So what has DeSantis done since he squeaked into office? Well, aside from a COVID policy that kept his state largely open and may have extended the length of the pandemic in America, there are several other problematic policies. In particular, it’s worth mentioning that this is the same DeSantis behind the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law in his state.

This law restricts discussion on many matters related to sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida’s K-3 classrooms. According to CNN, the bill has in its language that any instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity at this level is against state standards. The bill cites developmental appropriateness as its reason for existing, but plenty of kids these days have two same-sex parents. What I’m saying is that kids these days are probably perfectly capable of understanding that some of their peers have two moms or two dads. What DeSantis did here was ignore all of that to score points with a GOP base who now often calls teachers they don’t agree with “groomers.” That is the definition of homophobia.And now, half a year later, DeSantis has shipped 50 migrants off to Massachusetts for similar political expediency. The consequences of this fiasco are still to be determined, but a lot has already happened. For one thing, there are suspicions that pamphlets and brochures that the migrants received before the flights were full of false information. If this is true, that may meet legal definitions of kidnapping. In other words, this is no better than a white van by an elementary school offering free candy. Now there is a criminal probe into this stunt, and if evidence shows DeSantis being guilty, I hope they throw the book at him. Time will tell how bad this gets, but if this has taught me one thing, you can never bet on the Governor of Florida to not be stupid. After all, he is Derp-Santis.