On Friday, speaking at a news conference at Chipola College in Marianna, Florida, Florida GOP governor Ron DeSantis flattened President Biden again, after Biden had snidely responded, “Governor Who?” when asked about DeSantis earlier this week. DeSantis quipped, “I guess I’m not surprised that Biden doesn’t remember me; I guess the question is, what else has he forgotten?”
“Biden’s forgotten about the crisis at our southern border; I can tell you that,” DeSantis continued. “Biden has forgotten about the inflation that’s biting the budgets of families all throughout our country. Biden has forgotten about the demonstrators who are fighting for freedom down in Cuba. Biden has even forgotten about the Constitution itself, as we saw with what he did with this (eviction) moratorium.”
Then DeSantis cleverly used the “Governor Who?” insult by Biden and turned it on its head, asserting, “And I can just tell you, I’m the Governor Who protects parents and their ability to make the right choices for their kids’ education. I’m the Governor Who protects the jobs and education and businesses in Florida by not letting the federal government lock us down. I’m the Governor Who answers to the people of Florida, not to bureaucrats in Washington.”
Biden precipitated DeSantis’ fiery response earlier in the week when he stated, “Just two states, Florida and Texas, account for one-third of all new COVID cases in the entire country. Just two states. Look, we need leadership from everyone. If some governors aren’t willing to do the right thing to beat this pandemic, then they should allow businesses and universities who want to do the right thing to be able to do it. I say to these governors: Please help, but if you aren’t going to help, at least get out of the way of the people who are trying to do the right thing. Use your power to save lives.”
In his blistering response, DeSantis fired:
But let me tell you this, if you’re coming after the rights of parents in Florida, I’m standing in your way, I’m not going to let you get away with it. If you’re trying to deny kids a proper in-person education, I’m going to stand in your way, and I’m going to stand up for the kids in Florida. If you’re trying to restrict people, impose mandates, if you’re trying to ruin their jobs and their livelihoods and their small business, if you are trying to lock people down, I am standing in your way, and I’m standing for the people of Florida. So why don’t you do your job? Why don’t you get this border secure? And until you do that, I don’t want to hear a blip about COVID from you.
In a speech that lasted less than five minutes, DeSantis ripped Biden on various issues, noting that Biden had claimed he would “shut down the virus” as a presidential candidate, but had imported more of the virus with his lassitude regarding illegal immigration at the southern border; that a member of Biden’s administration had told parents that they should be wearing masks at home when they are around their own children — a notion DeSantis called “insane”; that Biden believes that vaccination should be mandated by force of government, but DeSantis believes the decision ultimately should be left to the individual; that Biden believes law-abiding citizens should have to produce proof of their medical records just to go to the gym, or attend an event, or just to participate in everyday society, but “if you want to vote, he thinks it’s too much of a burden to show a picture ID when you’re voting, so no voter ID, but have to show your medical papers just to be able to live in everyday life.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis blasts Joe Biden, tells him to do his job and that Florida is a place for freedom, not a “biomedical security state.”
