Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” that the alleged “medical authoritarianism” he claims has characterized the COVID-19 pandemic is “probably the most significant threat to freedom in [his] lifetime.”
“They are basically saying that we are all just subservient to a medical authoritarianism,” DeSantis told Fox News host and Daily Caller co-founder, Tucker Carlson. “Whatever they think needs to be done, we have to submit to it: it’s probably, Tucker, the most significant threat to freedom in my lifetime, certainly since the fall of the Berlin Wall.”
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“Because taking it to its logical conclusion, you end up with Australia where they’re forcing lockdowns,” DeSantis continued. The governor also claimed that the Biden administration is allegedly “more concerned” about attacking him than dealing with pressing issues, such as the border crisis, inflation and gas prices. (RELATED: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis To Take Executive Action Against COVID-19 Vaccine Passports)
DeSantis argued that Biden ran on a promise to “shut down” the coronavirus but had failed to do so, citing the border crisis and influx of illegal immigrants as a possible source of new COVID-19 variants. He also reiterated his view that governments should not force children “to wear masks for eight hours a day” and should instead allow their parents to make that decision. (RELATED: Why Ron DeSantis Is The Future Of The Republican Party)
Families protest any potential mask mandates before the Hillsborough County Schools Board meeting held at the district office on July 27, 2021 in Tampa, Florida. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended those who are vaccinated should wear masks indoors including students returning to school.
On July 30, DeSantis issued an executive order that denied funding to school districts that violated the “parents’ right … to make health care decisions for their minor children.” However, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll released Wednesday, 63% of parents with children in school think unvaccinated students and staff should have to wear masks. White House chief medical advisor Anthony Fauci believes children should wear masks in an indoor setting, while the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has indicated that all students should wear face masks.
Florida tallied approximately 134,000 new cases and 616 deaths in the week ending Aug. 7 according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.
Amid clashes with DeSantis over pandemic policy, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that the Biden administration’s “war is not on DeSantis, it’s on the virus, which we’re trying to kneecap.”