Ron DeSantis’s narrative whiplash
On Sunday,
60 Minutes, on CBS, aired a segment examining “how the wealthy cut the line during Florida’s frenzied vaccine rollout,” and the “corruption allegations clouding” the effort. At one point, reporter Sharyn Alfonsi brought up a vaccination partnership between the state and Publix, a chain of grocery stores that, in Palm Beach County, at least, has steered doses away from public-health bodies, disadvantaging poorer residents of color, in particular. Asking why Ron DeSantis, Florida’s Republican governor, chose to partner with Publix, Alfonsi noted that in the weeks before the deal was announced, the company gave a hundred thousand dollars to DeSantis’s political action committee, and that figures connected to the company have donated to the PAC in the past. DeSantis declined to be interviewed, but Alfonsi was able to confront him at a press availability near Orlando. “How is that not pay to play?” she asked. DeSantis rep
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04-07-2021
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks the media at a coronavirus vaccination site at Lakewood Ranch Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021, in Bradenton, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O Meara)
Some top Florida Democrats are calling the recent CBS 60 Minutes story on Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis malarkey and intentionally false. 60 Minutes alleged in their report Sunday that DeSantis chose Publix supermarket pharmacies for the state s rollout of vaccine distribution because of the company s previous contributions to his campaign. The story also alleged that the rollout was slower to minority communities in Palm Beach County because a Publix supermarket was not located nearby. The state addressed that concern by setting up drive-through vaccine sites in those areas, as it had done in other parts of Florida.
Ron DeSantis gets all kinds of negative media coverage, and it’s now working to his advantage.
Does that remind you of anyone else now in Florida?
The Republican governor is the clear beneficiary of the botched 60 Minutes story about him and Covid vaccines. A key Democratic mayor is backing him. The backlash is boosting his standing among GOP voters. And he’s increasingly looking like a top contender for the 2024 presidential nomination.
DeSantis is a big ally of Donald Trump, who famously spent his tenure at war with what he calls fake news. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gestures during a news conference Sunday, April 4, 2021, at the Manatee County Emergency Management office in Palmetto, Fla. (Associated Press)
Instead of airing his complete interview with correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi,
CBS cut out portions of DeSantis’ statements to make him appear stupid, as well as to tee up a false narrative that he engaged in a “pay for play” scheme concerning the mass distribution of Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) injections.
The accusation was made that DeSantis gave preferential treatment to the Publix grocery store chain to be the sole distributor of Chinese virus syringes in Palm Beach because of the company’s contributions to his campaign. DeSantis denied this and offered an explanation, but “60 Minutes” cut his explanation from the final show.