'I find that deplorable': Gov. Ron DeSantis rips into reporter for question about kids with COVID



Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ripped into a reporter who asked him a question about his responsibility for children who had contracted the coronavirus in Florida.

DeSantis was speaking to reporters on Tuesday when he got into a heated exchange with one journalist.

"Seven kids are in Joe DiMaggio Hospital, two of them are in ICU. Don't you think the mask would help those poor children?" the reporter asked.

"Do you have any data to suggest that? Do you know if they were wearing masks?" DeSantis fired back.

"I know they weren't vaccinated," she responded.

"Well, right, they're not eligible for the vaccination," replied DeSantis.

"So you're blaming the kids, saying they weren't wearing masks so they're in the ICU. With all due respect, I find that deplorable to blame a victim who ends up being hospitalized! You don't know their story, you don't know what happened with that!" DeSantis continued.

"This has been a really negative thing throughout this whole thing, with some of these, quote, experts, some of the media. Somebody can contract a highly transmissible airborne virus and they're viewed as having done something wrong. That's just not the way you do it. When people come in, you treat them!" DeSantis added.

Prior to that exchange, DeSantis accused the media of fear mongering and causing hysteria with their inaccurate reporting.

Florida is facing a resurgence of coronavirus with nearly 17,000 new daily cases reported on Tuesday, and 140 additional deaths. Overall, nearly 40,000 people in Florida have died from the coronavirus.

DeSantis also said during the briefing that he was dedicated to keeping Florida open despite the coronavirus resurgence.

"We are not shutting down," he said declaratively.

"We are going to have schools open," DeSantis said. "We are protecting every Floridian's job in this state. We are protecting people's small businesses. These interventions have failed time and time again throughout this pandemic, not just in the United States but abroad. They have not stopped the spread, particularly with delta."

Here's video of the fiery exchange:

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis blames the media for hysteria and fearmongeringwww.youtube.com

'60 Minutes' gets torched on social media for defending controversial editing of Gov. DeSantis' comments



CBS News defended its reporting on "60 Minutes" that appeared to deceptively edit comments by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to bolster their accusation that he had abused his power to benefit a political donor.

After facing public outcry over the controversial segment, CBS released a statement justifying the report.

"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 vaccine's rollout, which is controlled by the governor," the statement read.

"We requested and conducted interviews with dozens of sources and authorities involved. We requested an interview with Gov. Ron DeSantis, he declined; We spoke to State Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz twice, but he declined to be interviewed on camera for our story until well after our deadline. The idea we ignored their perspective is untrue," the network statement continued.

"Counter to his statement yesterday, we also spoke on the record with Palm Beach County Mayor David Kerner," the statement added. "For over 50 years, the facts reported by 60 MINUTES have often stirred debate and prompted strong reactions. Our story Sunday night speaks for itself."

Many noted that the statement didn't address the damaging accusation from the Democratic mayor of Palm Beach County who said that CBS neglected to include his comments defending DeSantis. The statement misleadingly implies that Kerner accused "60 Minutes" of not seeking his comment.

"No retraction, no correction, no apology. They're standing by this dreadful work, which might constitute actual malice, given Kerner's accusation, which they haven't refuted. Disgraceful," responded Fox News contributor Guy Benson.

The @60Minutes story accusing Governor DeSantis of pay to play regarding vaccine distribution was a terrible political hit job.
— Lindsey Graham (@Lindsey Graham)1617720580.0

"The @60Minutes story accusing Governor DeSantis of pay to play regarding vaccine distribution was a terrible political hit job," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

Earlier on Tuesday, the governor addressed the controversy directly and excoriated the news program.

"They cut out everything that showed that their narrative was a piece of horse manure," DeSantis said to reporters.

"I know corporate media thinks that they can just run over people, you ain't running over this governor," he added. "I'm punching back."

Here's more about the '60 Minutes' controversy:

Palm Beach County mayor calls '60 Minutes' report on Florida vaccines 'intentionally false'www.youtube.com