A.G. Gancarski
Virtually every conservative of note has defended Gov. Ron DeSantis in the wake of a critical “60 Minutes“ story about his vaccine distribution efforts, but a former Florida Governor is not among them
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott was on Fox News Radio Wednesday morning when host Brian Kilmeade asked Scott about what he described as a “hit job” on DeSantis.
The story, by CBS correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, suggested linkage between a sizable Publix donation to DeSantis’ political committee and the store being used to roll out vaccines.
Scott would not mention DeSantis’ name, instead framing the response solely as a defense of Publix.
“Well, I’ll tell you, they attacked Publix, the grocery store chain. My experience with Publix has been really positive. They’re a class act. The leadership there is a class act. So, you know, I know everybody in Florida wants to get the vaccine as quickly as they can. And they want it in their communities. But I can tell you, Publix, they’re a very great company, so I don’t know how you could ever attack them,” Scott told Kilmeade.
The chilly dynamic between the past and present governors has been a subject of much reporting, and Wednesday’s brisk answer from Scott offered no evidence of a thaw.
Even as Scott framed the story as an attack on Publix, DeSantis and his allies in the national conservative media present the story as an attempt to undermine the current Governor’s national political profile.
“I think part of it — they view me as a threat,” DeSantis said on the “Mark Levin Show“ Tuesday night. “I think part of it is I’m an example of leadership that succeeded against their governors who failed.”
The Governor, who has spent the better part of this week inveighing against the “smear merchants” of the corporate press, framed the “60 Minutes” segment as “a half-cocked conspiracy theory between me and the most reputable company in Florida” during the same radio hit.
For its part, “60 Minutes“ defends its work product, even as DeSantis called it “horse manure.“
“When Florida state data revealed people of color were vaccinated at a much lower rate than their wealthier neighbors, 60 MINUTES reported the facts surrounding the vaccines rollout, which is controlled by the governor,” a statement released Tuesday asserted.
4 comments
Chaco
April 8, 2021 at 11:55 am
So CBS took facts and twisted and contorted them to suit their political purpose, which coincides with their pecuniary goal of getting clicks and resultant ad revenue.And they are good enough to admit their social issue agenda in their response to the Governors fully accurate charge of corruption he leveled at CBS.Only in a world where BS is viewed through an ideological prism and magically transformed into what’s viewed as coherent political discourse does CBS succeed in publishing so called news.This is not unlike Wallace’s failed hit job on The Idiot Bush’s alleged cocaine habit without proper proof, only without the negative ramifications. There change in our political environment in less than 15 years is astounding and thoroughly frightening.
tjb
April 9, 2021 at 9:05 am
Thank God that nonpartisan Fox and OAN have never twisted the facts.
Josie
April 8, 2021 at 1:55 pm
Luckily Rick Scott is no longer our Governor. Good at Hurricane evacuations but MIA for being a Governor.
Ocean Joe
April 8, 2021 at 5:34 pm
Josie, he spurred an evacuation of the southeast coast over to the southwest coast, where the hurricane came ashore trapping more than a few who fled Miami only to find no gas to get back home and had to weather the storm. Sheltering in place except in a few really dangerous places should be the first choice unless you live in a trailer. No, Scott was pretty much good for nothing….and is now safely in Desantis’s shadow.
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