While the broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) spent Wednesday salivating over the second impeachment trial of former President Trump and pushing double masking from the CDC, they were ignoring disturbing reports the Biden administration was looking at instituting travel restrictions on Florida. The goal was to prevent the spread of the U.K. variant of COVID-19 by making it difficult to leave the Sunshine State. That’s despite the fact California was also battling a spike of the same variant.
And although both networks were broadcasting out of Miami, neither Telemundo nor Univision informed their Spanish audiences of the possible restrictions. They even ignored one of their senators calling it “authoritarian.”
“The Biden administration is considering whether to impose domestic travel restrictions, including on Florida, fearful that coronavirus mutations are threatening to reverse hard-fought progress on the pandemic,” wrote Michael Wilner, Ben Cornack, and Nicholas Nehamas for McClatchy DC Bureau.
Even though the U.S. had cases of different variants, such as “South Africa and Brazil that scientists worry can evade existing vaccines,” the Biden administration was crafting the restrictions to target the more-easily spreadable U.K. variant.
But regardless of the acknowledgment liberal California was also seeing an uptick in cases of the South African and U.K. variants, the focus was still on Florida. Though, no new policy was imminent (click "expand"):
“But we’re having conversations about anything that would help mitigate spread,” the official said, referring to discussions about new travel restrictions that could target the spread of the U.K. mutation in Florida.
The U.K. variant, known as B.1.1.7, has recently surged in Florida, where over a third of all cases in the United States have been identified.
Two federal government officials underscored that no policy announcements are imminent, and that any move to restrict travel or impose new health measures would be taken in partnership with state and local governments.
Of course, one of the first questions that should come to mind when a president wants to limit a law-abiding American’s right to travel freely between the states was: Is it constitutional?
On that topic, McClatchy wrote: “While the federal government has sole authority over international borders, it defers to states over domestic quarantines during public health emergencies.”
And in a statement put out Wednesday, Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R) condemned the restrictions as “authoritarian.”
“Instituting a travel ban, or any restriction of movement between the states, would be an outrageous, authoritarian move that has no basis in law or science. Instead, it would only serve to inflict severe and devastating economic pain on an already damaged economy,” the statement said.
He added: “Instead of dictating where Americans can, or cannot travel, your administration should instead focus on increasing supply and availability of vaccines, especially to Florida, the third most populous state and a winter retreat.”
This targeting of Florida came as the state’s case number, hospitalizations, and deaths were far exceeded by Democrat-controlled California and New York. Both blue states implemented harmful restrictions, with the latter issuing disastrous orders that killed thousands of nursing home residents and caused hospitals to throw out doses of the vaccine.
Despite these facts, NBC Nightly News twice whined about ONE grocery store in Florida that didn’t require masks. The CBS Evening News bashed Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) for planning ahead with vaccine doses. And ABC’s World News Tonight (along with CBS) ignored New York covering up nursing home death numbers.
And when President Trump thought about such restrictions for New York (their state), on March 28 of last year, the networks were irate. “Breaking news tonight, the President considers quarantining New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut as cases surge. How police in one state are already targeting New Yorkers,” decried NBC’s Jose Diaz-Balart, at the time.
“President Trump says that he is now considering federally enforced quarantines for hotspots like New York and other states. That`s not sitting so well for some, and that includes Connecticut`s governor, warning that the President could lead to confusion and panic,” huffed CBS Dallas/Fort Worth anchor Doug Dunbar on the CBS Weekend News.
This network cover-up of Biden’s dubious travel restrictions was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Jeep on ABC, Advil on CBS, and Amazon on NBC. Their contact information is linked so you can tell them about the biased news they fund.
