White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during a Thursday press briefing that President Joe Biden’s administration is communicating with Florida just like any other state and said that the virus is too serious for “partisan name-calling.”
Psaki said Tuesday that politicians like Republican Flordia Gov. Ron DeSantis need to “get out of the way” when it comes to COVID restrictions like mask mandates in schools. DeSantis responded by telling Biden to “do your job” and “get this border secure.”
“If you’re trying to deny kids a proper in-person education, I’m gonna stand in your way,” DeSantis said. “If you’re trying to restrict people, impose mandates, ruin their jobs … If you try to lock people down, I am standing in your way.” (RELATED: ‘He’s Risking The Lives Of Children’: Joy Behar Calls Ron DeSantis A ‘Negligent Homicidal Sociopath’ For Opposing Masks In Schools)
When a reporter asked about the administration’s response to DeSantis’ comments, Psaki said that they have “approached this not as a political issue, but a public health issue.”
“We remain in touch with officials in Florida just like we’re in touch with officials from around the country about how we can provide assistance from the federal level to help address this public health crisis,” she said.
Psaki cited a statistic showing that 25% of hospitalizations from COVID in the United States are currently in Florida and said DeSantis “has taken steps that are counter to public health recommendations.”
“Frankly, our view is that this is too serious – deadly serious – to be doing partisan name-calling. That’s what we’re not doing here. We’re focused on providing public health data and information to the people of Florida and to make sure they understand what steps they should be taking even if those are not steps taken at the top of the leadership in that state,” Psaki said.