Florida Governor Ron DeSantis blasted President Joe Biden on Wednesday, asserting that he doesn’t want to hear about COVID-19 until the southern border is secure.
DeSantis also accused the White House of trying to implement a “biomedical security state.”
Speaking at an event in Panama City, DeSantis ripped into Biden for nearly five minutes.
“This is a guy who ran for president saying he was gonna ‘shut down the virus’. And what has he done?” DeSantis asked. “He’s imported more virus from around the world by having a wide-open southern border.”
“I can tell you, whatever variants are around the world, they’re coming across that southern border,” the governor added. “And so, he’s not shutting down the virus, he’s helping to facilitate it in our country.”
Addressing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation that all K-12 students and faculty wear masks, DeSantis once again said that the decision about masking will be left to parents.
“I can tell you in Florida, the parents are going to be the ones in charge of that decision,” he said.
DeSantis went on to accuse Biden of wanting to mimic the controversial new city-wide vaccine passports that are being implemented in New York City by Mayor Bill de Blasio — and took a dig at them for believing people should have to show paperwork and identification to eat at a restaurant, but not to vote.
“He wants that, but yet if you want to vote, he thinks it’s too much of a burden to show a picture ID when you’re voting,” DeSantis said. “So no voter ID, but you have to show your medical papers just to be able to live an everyday life? Give me a break.”
The governor said that Americans have to decide between living in a “free society, or we can have a biomedical security state. And I can tell you, Florida, we’re a free state.”
“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 gonna stand in your way and I’m gonna 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” DeSantis concluded. “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.”
