The media's obsession with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis continued on Tuesday as Katy Tur Reports guest host Geoff Bennett let gubernatorial candidate Nikki Fried spread multiple untruths about DeSantis' pandemic response. That Fried was allowed to spread such claims was not surprising as Bennett's questioning relied on similarly false premises.
Ironically, before the segment even started, Bennett showed why the segment should never even happened as he went to a commercial teasing, "Still ahead, summer surge. At least 42 states are seeing COVID infection rates spike over 100 percent in the last two, we’ll go live to the new pandemic epicenter which is Florida."
If 42 states are seeing over 100% increases, then it can not simply be boiled down to politics or the governor's policies, but that didn't stop Bennett from trying. Leading Fried with a false narrative he asked, "What's your take-away about what's to come?...Why are do you think so many Floridians still aren't vaccinated?"
Florida's vaccination rate is essentially the same as the national average. As of August 3, 58.2% of Floridians have received at least one shot compared to 57.9% of all Americans.
Fried was all to happy to take that false narrative and run with it, "You know, I think the problem is that at the front end of this pandemic even when the vaccines came out, we targeted our seniors, but since then we've had no messaging here in the state of Florida from this governor about getting the vaccines. We do not, anymore have pop-up locations that you just heard."
Neither of those claims are true. On vaccinations, a recent Politico absurdly claimed DeSantis' vaccine promotion is costing him with parts his base and as for popup locations, a simple Google search will provide information about such sites popping up from Jacksonville to Miami.
After some more partisan attacks on DeSantis, Fried claimed she might as well be governor already, "You know, I am running for governor of the state of Florida, but I never expected to start the job no, certainly expect to start in 2023, but we're doing the governor's job for him because he is absent from our state and leaving the people here very vulnerable."
As Fried is a gubernatorial candidate, it would have been appropriate for some fact-checking, but Bennett declined and moved on to criticize DeSantis' ban on mask mandates for schools.
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Here is a transcript of the August 3 show:
MSNBC
Katy Tur Reports
2:25 PM ET
GEOFF BENNETT: Still ahead, summer surge. At least 42 states are seeing COVID infection rates spike over 100% in the last two, we’ll go live to the new pandemic epicenter which is Florida.
…
2:32
BENNETT: So, Commissioner Fried, let's pick up there. What's your take-away about what's to come? And you were very direct in a tweet this morning. You wrote that “our children are reaping what the unvaccinated and uncaring have sown. Enough get the … vaccine.” Why are do you think so many Floridians still aren't vaccinated?
NIKKI FRIED: You know, I think the problem is that at the front end of this pandemic even when the vaccines came out, we targeted our seniors, but since then we've had no messaging here in the state of Florida from this governor about getting the vaccines. We do not, anymore have pop-up locations that you just heard. There isn't daily reporting of our COVID cases, which is something that I have been urging our governor to put back online. I've asked him to do a state of emergency. Unfortunately there's been a void in leadership here in this state. We have taken that mantle the last week-and-a-half and had daily reporting numbers as they become available from the CDC, but we are still lagging behind on information to the people and until which time that we change the messaging here in this state, bipartisan messaging that the severity of what is happening with this Delta variant, we know it is increasing as far as transmission numbers and so we have to be taking this seriously and until which time that our governor steps up to the plate and does right by the people of our state and tell them how severe this is, encouraging people to, in fact, go get the vaccine, please mask up, listen to the scientists, listen to the experts. You know, I am running for governor of the state of Florida, but I never expected to start the job now, certainly expect to start in 2023, but we're doing the governor's job for him because he is absent from our state and leaving the people here very vulnerable.
