Florida congresswoman claims Fox News and Ron DeSantis are responsible for state’s COVID surge

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz appeared on CNN Newsroom With Pamela Brown Sunday, where the Florida Democrat blamed Gov. Ron DeSantis for the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in the state. Florida currently accounts for roughly 20 percent of new cases in the U.S.

“What I think explains high infection rates is that we have a governor who has not taken COVID seriously from the very beginning,” Wasserman Schultz said. “You know, he’s essentially right now treating it like a joke.”

DeSantis recently passed a law prohibiting local jurisdictions from imposing new COVID restrictions, and is selling anti-vaccine merchandise, like t-shirts that read “Don’t Fauci My Florida.”

“I would rather see us Fauci our Florida than have people go through death by DeSantis, and that's what we're facing now,” Wasserman Schultz said. “He actually had a law passed in Florida to prohibit local governments from being able to enact measures like mask requirements and social distancing to keep people safe. You just can't make this stuff up. So that's where the blame lies, at his feet.”

Wasserman Schultz also pointed the finger at Facebook for vaccine misinformation, and Fox News, where the primetime hosts regularly denigrate the vaccines and discourage their audience from getting vaccinated.

“We have to make sure that we’re stopping the spread of misinformation,” Wasserman Schultz said, “like is spreading rampant on Facebook, some of which is propagated by Ron DeSantis himself, and Fox News, which he spends a lot of time on.”

Wasserman Schultz went on to remind viewers that, despite his public posturing, DeSantis has been vaccinated.

“All he has to do is exercise his leadership and use his bully pulpit to encourage people to get vaccinated,” Wasserman Schultz said. “He’s been vaccinated.”

For more go to CNN.com.

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