Ron DeSantis fundraises off ‘Was it worth it?’ letter to Associated Press

Image via AP.

A new fundraising pitch for Gov. Ron DeSantis‘ reelection committee features his war of words with The Associated Press.

An email sent Tuesday to DeSantis supporters — with a subject line “Was It Worth It, AP?” — alluded to the Governor’s letter to the national news wire Monday.

DeSantis sent the letter after Twitter suspended his press secretary for what the AP called “abusive behavior,” leading to threats against reporter Brendan Farrington.

“Just like ’60 Minutes,’ The Associated Press got caught spreading a FAKE CONSPIRACY THEORY and LYING about a lifesaving treatment to score cheap political points,” the email said. “With their credibility in the tank, the corporate media cannot help themselves — they continue to push false political hit pieces trying to hurt me.”

Twitter locked press secretary Christina Pushaw’s account for 12 hours beginning Friday night.

“To make matters worse, Big Tech CENSORED my communications team when they dared to do their jobs by holding the AP accountable to the truth,” according to the email. “Yet, they allow the Taliban and other extremist groups unfettered and uninterrupted access to social media.”

The suspension came after Pushaw encouraged her nearly 22,000 followers to harass Farrington, who published a story last week about a top DeSantis donor’s link to a hedge fund that invested in Regeneron, which produces a drug used to treat COVID-19.

DeSantis, who has urged Florida residents to get vaccinated, promotes Regeneron’s monoclonal antibody treatment across the state to supplement vaccinations ahead of the state opening sites to administer the drug.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization to the antibody cocktail as a preemptive treatment for people at risk for severe COVID-19 infections.

The drug has been shown to reduce the risk for hospitalizations and death by 70%.

“This latest partisan smear campaign from the AP is particularly loathsome as their lies could put lives at risk by potentially dissuading people from seeking an effective COVID treatment,” according to the email.

Despite the pushback, the AP stands by the story. Incoming AP CEO Daisy Veerasingham sent a letter Friday to DeSantis protesting Pushaw’s tweets.

DeSantis should “assure the people of Florida that there is no place” for such behavior in their government, Veerasingham, AP’s vice president and chief operating officer, wrote. She will become AP’s CEO in January.

“While we can disagree about stories,” Veerasingham wrote, “it is unacceptable and dangerous for a public official to encourage the systemic bullying of journalists.”

While the headline of Farrington’s story drew attention to the donor’s investment in Regeneron, the story details how the hedge fund invested more in vaccine manufacturers but noted that “the relationship (with Regeneron) has generated a buzz on social media, as Democrats question the relationship.”

Pushaw responded to the story with a flood of tweets aimed at Farrington, his editor, and the AP over the next few days.

In one (now-deleted) tweet, she told followers: “Drag them.”

As a result, Farrington said he received death threats.

“You succeeded in publishing a misleading, clickbait headline about one of your political opponents, but at the expense of deterring individuals infected with COVID from seeking lifesaving treatment, which will cost lives,” DeSantis wrote in his Monday letter. “Was it worth it?”

The Governor continued his attacks against the AP Monday night in an appearance on Fox News’ Hannity, calling the story a “partisan hit piece.”

“The AP knew what they were doing. They wanted to do a political hit on me,” DeSantis said. “They had the temerity to act like they were the victim when they got called out on their hit piece.”