Gov. DeSantis says 60 Minutes has ‘contempt’ for its viewers

Ron DeSantis
The Governor says 60 Minutes is gaslighting viewers.

Gov. Ron DeSantis continued to work “60 Minutes  like a punching bag, taking aim at the franchise’s “mealy-mouthed statements,” purportedly “false” reporting, and charging them with having “contempt” for their viewers.

The Governor offered these extended comments to Fox and Friends on Wednesday morning, his latest in a series of responses to a piece the CBS newsmagazine did, contending that DeSantis favored donor Publix by allowing them to distribute vaccines ahead of other outlets, a policy that led to inequities in vaccine distribution in one county.

DeSantis was in high dudgeon about the network’s attempts at damage control, which included a short viewer response epilogue on Sunday’s show where the franchise attempted to reassert control of the narrative.

“They’ve issued a lot of mealy-mouthed statements since the episode aired,” groused the Governor. “They knew what they were putting on the air was false. And that’s the problem that they have.”

The Governor noted the coverage did not include the perspective of Democrats and others who could debunk the narrative.

“They know that they got caught. So they’ve never even addressed that. They’ve just issued these mealy-mouthed statements. What I would say to 60 Minutes and to the American people is they have so much contempt for their viewers to try to gaslight them like this.”

“You know what? Admit that it was false,” DeSantis thundered. “That’s the responsible thing to do. But I think folks like this, they’re corporate media operatives basically. They had a political mission to smear me. They thought they could do a drive-by and then go on to the next target.”

But they had the wrong Governor, he contends.

“I have a platform. I have the ability to fight back,” DeSantis said, before pivoting back to critique of the CBS program.

“Man, how much contempt do they have for their fellow Americans? That really bugs me,” DeSantis asserted.

The Governor has called the story “horse manure“ and a “smear” and 60 Minutes “smear merchants.” His critiques are well-established, with practiced rhetoric and proven appeal to the base.

A.G. Gancarski

A.G. Gancarski has written for FloridaPolitics.com since 2014. He is based in Northeast Florida. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski


18 comments

  • Charles

    April 14, 2021 at 9:44 am

    60 minutes of lies embraced by the left wing media. Today’s journalists want truthfulness ONLY when it supports their narrative. Otherwise distortion and lying are employed and celebrated.

    • Mitchell Martin

      April 17, 2021 at 1:45 am

      CBS 60 Minutes! Admit you were wrong and that it was a deliberate smear of Gov DeSantis! You Guys and the Show are doomed if you continue your lies and Smear! How disgraceful are you, or willing to be?

  • Frankie M.

    April 14, 2021 at 9:47 am

    Glad to see Ronnie doesn’t nurse a grudge. I thought he’d have moved onto Mean Joe and death…errr cruise ships by now.

    • Mitchell Martin

      April 17, 2021 at 1:48 am

      I’m waiting for the Lawsuit to fall and bankrupt CBS 60 Minutes! They really deserve it!!

  • Tjb

    April 14, 2021 at 9:55 am

    Ronnie should we be talking about your contempt for millions of Floridians? For example, not allowing more medical care for the less fortunate, promoting false information causing more Floridians to die from COVID-19 and the many more hateful actions you have taken to hurt our citizens. We have lost 42, 000 plus Florida citizens to COVID-19. How many of these deaths can be directly linked to you mismanagement of the Covid-19 response. Is it 5,000, 10,000 or more?

    • Mitchell Martin

      April 17, 2021 at 1:51 am

      Tjb, Don’t be such a Dem stooge! Just a Dem attempt to cancel Ron, who will replace the asleep at the wheel Biden!

  • Ron Ogden

    April 14, 2021 at 1:45 pm

    Who is so immersed in left wing politics that they are willing to shrug over the abuses of the American mainstream media? A few here, I see.

    • Tjb

      April 14, 2021 at 5:01 pm

      Hey Ron, where was your protest when Trump, Fox News, and OAN demonstrated contemptuous behaviors on a daily basis. Oh, yes, that was making America great again and not abuse.

      • Mitchell Martin

        April 17, 2021 at 1:55 am

        Another Tjb comment trying to defend Biden! LoL Everyone knows the Dems were the most Guilty of protests on their Dem networks! Cry away CNN Lover and drink your beer!

        • tjb

          April 20, 2021 at 12:00 pm

          DeSantis is gaslighting us on his Florida Covid 19 response. He touts huge success, but let look at the numbers.

          Percentage of the population fully vaccinated — April 19.
          Florida ranks 36 of 50. Worst than New York and California.

          DeSantis why is that? Are you too busy stoping the rights of Americans to protest? Your covid 19 plan gets a C- at best.

          • Tjb

            April 21, 2021 at 4:38 pm

            Hey Martin, where did I defend Biden? Stop creating false news or accusations.

    • Crystal

      April 15, 2021 at 2:42 pm

      Go to California where they lost people and jobs. Suicide rate is high in kids because no school is open. Gov Desantis approach to pandemic is balanced. Why do you think he is a target?

      • Mitchell Martin

        April 17, 2021 at 1:58 am

        Crystal, you are in the majority and right! Let the mealy mouthed Dems wail away with their nonsense!

    • Mitchell Martin

      April 17, 2021 at 2:12 am

      Of Course, wouldn’t be surprised if 60 Minutes is one of them!

  • Bill Williams

    April 15, 2021 at 11:34 am

    Hey, nothing unusual about this. Politicians and news organizations always spew out false information. Poor old DiSantis just can’t keep his mouth shut

    • Mitchell Martin

      April 17, 2021 at 2:01 am

      Ron makes thoughtful Statements, not like those from Dems here! They should keep their mouths closed, but who cares about their stupid lies?

  • tom palmer

    April 15, 2021 at 11:49 pm

    Despite the comments of some of the ignoramuses here, the 60 Minutes segment has been uniformly condemned by other news media for its sloppiness and incompetence.

    • Mitchell Martin

      April 17, 2021 at 2:04 am

      Yes but 60 Minutes believes it can smear anybody and get away with it! How stupid are they over there? Maybe they think they are another Sat Night Live with Lies?

Comments are closed.


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