DeSantis: Our COVID Death Rate Is Below National Average, Some Networks ‘Have Agendas’ and Want ‘Narratives’

On Tuesday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said he’s fine with being criticized by news networks that are interested in “narratives” over facts if Florida has in-person education, people can work, businesses can stay open, and Florida can have a below-average COVID death rate.

DeSantis said, “I am totally willing to wear the criticism [as] a badge of honor if it means that my state has a state in which every parent has the right to send their kid to in-person instruction, everybody has a right to work and a right to pursue their vocations, every business has a right to operate. And we’ve done that. We’ve trusted people. And as you mentioned, our COVID mortality is less than the national average per capita, and on the vaccine front, we were the first state in the country to begin vaccinating citizens — residents of long-term care facilities, and we were the first state in the country to start vaccinating our broader, over-65 population.”

He later added, “I think it’s pretty clear some of these networks, obviously, they have agendas. They’re doing narratives. They’re not trying to report facts anymore. It’s all about spinning whatever narrative they think can get ratings.”

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