White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki is going after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) for his response to the COVID-19 pandemic, accusing him of “fundraising off of” public health decisions.
“As a parent myself, of two young children, I want public health officials to make decisions about how to keep my kids safe, not politicians. And not only is Gov. DeSantis not abiding by public health decisions, he’s fundraising off of this,” Psaki said during Friday’s White House press briefing.
She added, “So my view, and our view as an administration, is that parents in Florida, parents across the country, should have the ability and the knowledge that their kids are going to school and they’re in safe environments. That shouldn’t be too much to ask.”
Watch part of the press briefing below:
WH Press Sec. Jen Psaki hits at Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) on COVID:
— The Recount (@therecount) August 6, 2021
“I want public health officials to make decisions about how to keep my kids safe, not politicians. And not only is Gov. DeSantis not abiding by public health decisions, he’s fundraising off of this.” pic.twitter.com/BvdgP0KPs7
Several Florida school districts continue to keep their mask mandates in place, even though DeSantis issued an executive order that allows parents to decide whether they will allow their children to wear face coverings while in school, as NPR reports.
Still, school boards that refuse to eliminate mask mandates could lose state funding. Psaki was asked about the governor’s efforts to keep school districts from requiring students to wear masks on Tuesday, as IJR reported.
“I would say first, Florida’s not the only state. Seven states have both a statewide ban on mask mandates and a prohibition on school districts from requiring masks in schools,” she said.
Psaki continued, “If you aren’t going to help, if you aren’t going to abide by public health guidance, then get out of the way.”
DeSantis fired back at President Joe Biden after criticizing him for his handling of the outbreak, as IJR reported.
“Joe Biden has taken to himself to try to single out Florida over COVID. This is a guy who ran for president saying he was going to ‘shut down the virus,'” DeSantis said on Wednesday.
He added, “And what has he done? He’s imported more virus from around the world by having a wide-open southern border.”
DeSantis did not stop there. He proceeded to ask, “Why don’t you do your job? Why don’t you get this border secure? And until you do that, I don’t wanna hear a blip about COVID from you, thank you.”
