Analysis

BACKFIRED: CBS’s Failed Hit On DeSantis Ends Up Highlighting California Governor’s ‘No Bid’ Vaccine Contract

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Shelby Talcott Senior White House Correspondent
Font Size:

The “60 Minutes” segment on Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis regarding vaccine distribution quickly unraveled, but inadvertently brought Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom into the spotlight.

The report, published Sunday, accused DeSantis of choosing Publix – Florida’s largest grocery store chain – to partner with for the vaccine rollout due to donations the company made to his political committee. “60 Minutes” quickly faced backlash and critics began taking apart the segment, noting that the CBS show aired an edited clip of DeSantis explaining why Publix was chosen, that two Democrats publicly decried the allegations, that Publix’s donations did not make up a substantial amount of funding, and much more.

Critics also began calling out “60 Minutes” for airing a “hit job,” as former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany called it, on DeSantis while ignoring the failures of Democratic governors in other states. (RELATED: ’60 Minutes’ Flamed Over ‘Hit Job’ Against Gov. DeSantis, Publix On Vaccine Distribution)

One notable governor people pointed to was Newsom, who gave Blue Shield a $15 million no-bid contract to manage California’s vaccination efforts. Blue Shield reportedly contributed almost $23 million to the Democratic governor’s campaigns and special causes throughout the years, according to Fierce Healthcare.

“Of that, nearly 90% has funded the homelessness initiatives that critics and allies say are dearest to Newsom’s heart,” Fierce Healthcare wrote in March. “Newsom, elected governor in 2018, in turn has rewarded Blue Shield and its executives with positions of power during the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed nearly 56,000 Californians’ lives.”

Instead of honing in on Newsom’s deal with Blue Shield after the company reportedly donated millions, “60 Minutes” opted to try and connect Publix’s much smaller $100,000 donation to DeSantis’ political committee. Critics also pointed out the difference in the vaccine distribution success regarding Florida compared to California.

“Even more than that, while Publix’s effort has been a huge success in Florida and received bipartisan praise, the Blue Shield program in CA has had enormous challenges and expensive frustration,” writer A.G. Hamilton pointed out.

Public health officials and lawmakers have pushed back on the Blue Shield vaccine deal and various counties in California “simply refuse to sign on with the insurer,” according to the Fierce Healthcare report. Blue Shield whistleblower Michael Johnson reportedly noted that while the company can’t technically make money off of the vaccinations, it stands to gain with regards to marketing.

“The reason Blue Shield has been deleted for this is not because of its capabilities, but because of its relationship with Newsom,” Johnson asserted according to the Fierce Healthcare report.

Newsom claimed the decision to pair with Blue Shield has nothing to do with its long-standing support, calling the allegations “nonsense,” according to Deadline.

“Everybody came together looking at what’s working, what’s not working, and we identified two partners in particular, two nonprofits, Kaiser and Blue Shield,” Newsom said in February. “They have the kind of scale, they have the capacity…we were looking for.”

Newsom didn’t just pair with a company that has backed him for years. He also tapped Blue Shield CEO Paul Markovich “to help steer the state’s COVID testing strategy,” according to Fierce Healthcare, which noted that the efforts have “faltered.”

The Federalist’s Mollie Hemingway was another individual to point out the lack of reporting from “60 Minutes” regarding Newsom, calling the show “propaganda press.”

Blue Shield previously denied allegations that its many years of donating to Newsom – including contributing $269,000 to an account to help the governor fight a recall election – benefited the company. (RELATED: ‘I Will Fight It’: Gov. Newsom Criticizes Recall Election Effort, Promotes Counter-Campaign)

“There is no financial or other benefit being bestowed upon, or accrued by, Blue Shield,” Blue Shield spokesperson Don Campbell said according to Fierce Healthcare. “Blue Shield was asked by the state to help with vaccines. Our reward is to help save lives.”

As for CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” the show has only addressed the shortened DeSantis clip, telling the Daily Caller on Monday that it was edited down “for clarity.”

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel