GOP Florida gov candidate: I was wrong and Obama was right on Ebola response

Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) admitted he was wrong for criticizing then-President Obama over his handling of the Ebola outbreak.

DeSantis, who is running for governor of Florida, was asked at a Saturday candidate forum to provide an example of a time he’s changed his mind about something, the Palm Beach Post reported on Monday.

He cited his reaction to Obama’s handling of the 2014 Ebola crisis.

“Actually, I think the one time that I was wrong in the Congress was when we had the breakout of Ebola and I thought we’ve just got to shut everything down, we can’t take any risks,” DeSantis said. {mosads}

“Obama didn’t do that and I criticized him a lot for doing that. A lot of my Republican colleagues criticized him for doing that but, you know, I look back at it — it was handled well,” DeSantis said.

“I was just wrong about that. I think that the way the [Centers for Disease Control] and some of the folks in government handled it was actually an example of government getting the job done. So I’m totally willing to just be honest and admit if I call it wrong. Just admit that you were wrong and people appreciate that. Because we’re going to make mistakes in this line of work, that’s just the bottom line.”

DeSantis is a strong backer of President Trump. Trump endorsed him for Florida governor last year, saying he “loves our Country and is a true FIGHTER!”

DeSantis is facing Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam in the GOP primary for governor. Polls from earlier this year showed the two candidates largely neck and neck.