President Joe Biden responded Thursday to criticism he received from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday, when the Sunshine state governor sent Biden a clear message: “I’m standing in your way.”
Shortly after he test drove electric vehicles on the White House lawn, Biden took questions from reporters and was asked by NBC News White House correspondent Kelly O’Donnell what his response was to DeSantis, who held a press conference and fired back at remarks made earlier this week by Biden about his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Governor who?” Biden responded with a laugh. “That’s my response.
Earlier this week, Biden called out Florida and Texas, seemingly blaming the two states for a rise in coronavirus cases.
“Just two states, Florida and Texas, account for one-third of all new COVID-19 cases in the entire country, just two states,” Biden said. “I say to these governors, please help. But if you’re not going to help, at least get out of the way of the people that are trying to do the right thing.”
DeSantis responded to Biden on Thursday, calling out his administration’s efforts to control the coronavirus pandemic with “hundreds of thousands of people pouring across every month” from America’s southern border.
DeSantis noted that those immigrating to America illegally are “rarely from Mexico, you have over 100 different countries, where people are pouring through — not only are they letting them though — but they’re then farming them out all across our communities all across this country.”
DeSantis also took aim at the Biden administration’s approach to forced vaccinations. “We said from the beginning we’re going to make it available for all, but we’re not going to mandate it on anybody,” he said. “That’s ultimately an individual’s choice to be able to do it.”
“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,” DeSantis said directly to Biden.
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