Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis lashed out this week against President Joe Biden, referring to the nation’s commander-in-chief as a “power-hungry tyrant.” The two stand opposed regarding strict safety measures against COVID-19. At a Thursday press conference at the White House, Biden administration press secretary Jen Psaki demolished DeSantis’s rhetoric. Psaki observed that current circumstances seem too “deadly serious to be doing partisan name calling” — although “partisan name calling” is exactly where DeSantis seems to be focusing, in addition to his focus on going against safety precautions. Recently, DeSantis even signed an order meant to block local school boards from imposing mask mandates within their jurisdictions, even as Floridians die.
At the White House on Thursday, Psaki commented as follows:
‘From day one, we’ve approached this not as a political issue, but a public health issue… 25 percent of hospitalizations in the country are in Florida. It is also a fact that the governor has taken steps that are counter to public health recommendations. So, we’re here to state the facts. Frankly, our view is that this is too serious, deadly serious to be doing partisan name calling. That’s what we’re not doing here. We’re focused on providing public health data information to the people of Florida, to make sure they understand what steps they should be taking, even if those are not steps taken at the top of the leadership in that state.’
Psaki also said that the Biden administration has been in touch with officials in Florida (and elsewhere) “about how we can provide assistance from the federal level to help address this public health crisis.”
Watch Psaki below:
“This is too serious—deadly serious—to be doing partisan name-calling.”
Asked by @sramosABC about Florida Gov. DeSantis calling Pres. Biden a “power-hungry tyrant,” Psaki says DeSantis has taken steps “that are counter to public health recommendations.” https://t.co/4U2SC5B12L pic.twitter.com/iq7OihqfFo
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) August 5, 2021
The Biden administration’s insistence on approaching the COVID-19 crisis with impartiality starkly contrasts with the way that former President Donald Trump handled the situation. At one point, he explicitly complained about the impact from so-called “blue states” on the nation’s overall COVID-19 death numbers — which is simply appalling. These “blue states” are part of the United States, and as president, Trump could reasonably be expected to look out for the interests of the whole country amid a deadly global virus outbreak — but instead, Trump decided to gloss over the deaths of thousands and thousands of people, because doing so politically suited him. Instead of focusing on using the resources of the federal government to help keep people from dying, Trump put on this disgusting charade.
