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Biden and DeSantis face off over the response to covid-19

2021-08-25T06:15:32.016Z


President Joe Biden and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have become rhetorical rivals in the fight against the coronavirus. And neither of us seems eager to back down anytime soon.


Republicans' lies about immigrants and covid-19 2:09

(CNN) -

President Joe Biden and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have become rhetorical rivals in the fight against the coronavirus.

And neither of us seems eager to back down anytime soon.

The recent spike in outright rhetoric between the Biden White House and the Republican governor with unbridled political aspirations reached its

crescendo

days ago, when Biden suggested that DeSantis' actions were "not good" for Floridians and the governor responded that he did not want to. "hear a word" from Biden on the coronavirus issue.

Later Biden shrugged off DeSantis's criticism and replied "The governor who?"

when asked about him, prompting the Florida Republican to ask "What else have you forgotten?"

Biden then publicly rebuked DeSantis, arguing that the governor was "trying to turn a public safety measure - for children to wear masks at school so they can be safe - into a political dispute."

The president is now using the power of his administration to help school districts the governor has tried to punish for setting mask-wearing mandates.

DeSantis: Florida will not impose the use of masks on children 0:47

Officials in the Biden administration and political advisers close to the president argue that tough dialogue is aimed at saving lives, not scoring political points. And for his part, the Republican governor - who has seen his prominence grow on the right as his state becomes the nation's latest hotspot in the long fight against the virus - has welcomed the dispute with the House. White.

So far, more Floridians are in favor of Biden's White House position - that schools should be able to require masks - than DeSantis's position, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday.

It found that 54% of Floridians supported the mandates to wear masks in schools, while 44% said the decision should be up to parents.

The poll also found that 69% of Floridians believe DeSantis's position of withholding the salaries of school leaders with mask-wearing mandates was a bad idea, compared to 25% who support it.

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"The strategy is to combat false information and misinformation from any source," said Cameron Webb, senior adviser to the White House on policies for equity in the face of COVID-19, regarding the more energetic discussion of the government with the governors that they disobey federal recommendations.

"Ultimately, history will look back at what is happening in different states. We are going to see and say who used the moment for the short term and who used the moment with the big, much bigger goal of keeping people safe".

The risk of going back to school without masks 2:58

Republicans close to DeSantis argue that the back and forth with Biden indicates that Democrats are concerned about the Republican governor.

"That the White House highlights Florida, and specifically Governor DeSantis, shows its deep concern about the governor's growing popularity," said Helen Aguirre Ferré, executive director of the Florida Republican Party.

"They are concerned that they will not do well in 2022, and they should be concerned."

The exchange has created a unique situation in politics, in which both sides welcome the fight, albeit for different reasons.

Biden and his top officials are willing to criticize that DeSantis continues to ignore medical advice in the fight against the virus, believing that setting him as an example could encourage other governors to do more.

Biden and medical advisers are also hawking other governors, including some Republicans like Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, whom Biden publicly acknowledged after the Republican admitted it was a mistake to ban mask-wearing mandates in the southern state.

  • Four educators from Broward County, Florida died within 24 hours of complications from covid-19

For DeSantis, his fight with the White House - as with the laws he pushed against the use of masks and social distancing - helps him with a small but politically powerful segment of the Republican Party, giving him a boost to his relevance. before the re-election campaign of 2022 and a possible and highly anticipated presidential candidacy of 2024.

Vaccination picks up in Florida, as cases rise 2:50

"Sometimes, you know, it's important to let a leader know when he's on the right track or on the wrong track," Webb said, "particularly when it's rooted in science, because it's less a matter of opinion, it's less subjective".

Webb argued that DeSantis and Florida, where more than 70% of the population received at least one dose of the vaccine, could be leading with a hopeful story.

However, as he has endorsed a number of anti-science positions, he is directly countering "what could otherwise be a strong track record."

'You're giving in to a little boy'

DeSantis has taken a much more

laissez faire approach

throughout the pandemic, including his decision to shut down the state later than most governors and reopen it earlier than many others.

While the governor was initially singled out for the fact that Florida appeared to have averted the worst of the pandemic, cases in the state increased in the summer of 2020 and winter of 2021.

More than 15,000 people hospitalized in Florida 2:22

And Florida is now experiencing the worst wave ever: Earlier this month, the seven-day daily average of new cases topped 21,000, well above the state's previous high.

And while DeSantis responds by urging people to get vaccinated, he has also led the national fight against the use of masks by vaccinated people and within schools.

"The politicians want to force you to cover your face as a way of covering your butt for them," DeSantis said this week.

"That's the truth. They want to be able to say that they are taking this on and doing it even though it has not been shown to be effective."

While some conservative media have highlighted comments like that, numerous school districts have openly disobeyed the governor by passing mask-wearing mandates.

Even so, DeSantis has seen his fame skyrocket among the right wing.

A White House official asked about the recent push and pull between DeSantis and Biden said: "People are always looking to gain notoriety or something like that by taking on other leaders."

Sentiments among Florida's top Democrats, including those looking to beat DeSantis in 2022, are complicated: Many welcome the White House denouncing DeSantis, but know the fight is not without consequences.

He went from being healthy to fighting for his life with covid-19 3:58

"Joe Biden is already president. Ron DeSantis is an applicant, and the applicants throw rocks at people who have the job they want. What the White House is doing is trying to do everything it can in moderation to prevent people from get sick and die, "said Kevin Cate, a longtime Florida Democrat who currently works for Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried.

Fried has already announced that he will try to beat DeSantis in 2020.

Cate added, however, that a Democratic White House fighting DeSantis simply gives the Republican governor "what he wants and means that he will be less likely to save people's lives."

"You're giving in to a little boy," he said.

Another leading Democrat said DeSantis is the White House's "biggest counterpoint" because "to get people to get vaccinated and wear masks, you need to hold some of these bad actors accountable," since "there's no way to end with the pandemic without fighting misinformation and lies. "

Still, this Democrat acknowledged that DeSantis "does enjoy the fight" because "he is very useful politically with this small segment of his base."

'Show the weaknesses of their policies'

This round trip is the latest in the strange relationship between the Democratic leader and the growing Republican governor.

DeSantis was first elected in 2018 by fully supporting then-President Donald Trump and became a vocal opponent of Biden in the 2020 election campaign. The only show of warmth between the two men came this summer when Biden visited the South Florida in the wake of the fatal condo collapse.

Then Biden put his hand on DeSantis's arm and praised his leadership, while the Republican governor said Biden "recognized the seriousness of this tragedy from day one" and had been "very supportive."

Now that warmth is a distant memory.

Florida Republicans, especially those close to DeSantis, appreciate that the White House's focus is on the governor, arguing that it not only propels him, but also shows that the opposing party is concerned about him.

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"It shows the weaknesses of his policies and the great support for what the governor is doing," Ferré said.

And DeSantis press secretary Christina Pushaw said the Republican governor is making his decision "based on scientific data and empirical evidence, not on signs of virtue or political considerations."

The background to all the comments from Florida Republicans is that Biden, who could run for reelection in 2024, is criticizing DeSantis in part because he could be his opponent in his bid for a second term.

"The governor has the pulse of what is important in Florida, and that is really a message that resonates" beyond the Sunshine State, Ferré argued.

That argument, said John Anzalone, Biden's longtime political adviser and pollster, shows how DeSantis's fight with the White House is "planned" and the governor "is pushing it from a political perspective."

Biden asks Americans to trust the 1:14 vaccine

"When you get down to business, Ron DeSantis isn't even talking to his constituents in Florida. He's talking to voters in the Republican primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire," Anzalone said.

"He is the model for political rhetoric and irresponsibility on this issue."

Democrats use DeSantis in battle against other Republicans

The White House is far from the only one showing DeSantis's response to the coronavirus as a political contrast to what could happen if a Republican took control of a state this year or in 2022.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom - who faces a recall election in part because of missteps he made during the coronavirus pandemic - used DeSantis as a warning in comments he recently made to volunteers. Newsom argued that electing a Republican in California would mean that the state's response would start to look like Florida's.

Virginia Democrats have also started comparing Republican commonwealth gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin to DeSantis, noting how many times the newcomer to politics has endorsed DeSantis. Virginia Democratic Party Chair Susan Swecker accused Youngkin of "mimicking" and "modeling himself" according to DeSantis in a recent call by "coddling anti-vaccine radicals." Youngkin has praised DeSantis' handling of multiple aspects of the coronavirus crisis in interviews this year.

And in New Jersey, Democrats have pointed to how Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli has praised DeSantis' "leadership" during the pandemic, rousing the Florida Republican to attack Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy's response to the virus.

Murphy will run for reelection in November.

"Ron DeSantis has put his donors and his political ambition before the children of Florida, and Republicans across the country want to follow his example," said David Turner, spokesman for the Democratic Governors Association.

"If Republicans think it is the best way to recover from the covid, they will face a reckoning from voters in 2021 and 2022."

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2021-08-25

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