President Joe Biden and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have been exchanging verbal punches at one another over each other’s handling of the COVID pandemic.
Biden criticized DeSantis on Tuesday for opposing mask mandates and for vaccine passports, specifically noting DeSantis’ fight with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) over vaccine passports for the cruise industry.
“Some state officials are passing laws … that forbid people from doing the right thing,” Biden said. “I say to the governors, please help. If you’re not going to help, get out of the way of the people that are trying to do the right thing. Use your power to save lives.”
DeSantis responded by saying Biden’s lackadaisical approach to the crisis at the southern border has contributed to COVID’s prolonged stay on the American people.
“Joe Biden is taken to himself to try to single out Florida over COVID,” DeSantis said. “He’s imported more virus from around the world by having a wide-open southern border, you have hundreds of thousands of people pouring across every month. … So he’s facilitating who knows what new variants are out there.”
Biden has even gone so far as to express support for cities and states to require proof of vaccination for patrons to enter shops and restaurants, and called the efforts of DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as being “not good for their constituents.”
New York City recently announced they will be requiring vaccine passports for their citizens to be in public spaces like gyms and restaurants, a move praised by the Biden administration.
“We know that this is what’s going to turn the tide,” said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. “And we also know that people are going to get a really clear message: if you want to participate in our society fully, you’ve got to get vaccinated. It’s time.”
DeSantis has pushed back against such mandates but still is encouraging Floridians to seek a vaccination if they choose, saying “we’re going to make it available for all, but we’re not going to mandate it on anybody. That’s ultimately an individual’s choice to be able to do it.”
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Grant Holcomb is a reporter at the Florida Capital Star and the Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
