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CBS Shoots At DeSantis And Misses

CBS is obviously terrified of a Ron DeSantis run for the presidency in 2024. They have good reason to be. A popular governor, an Army vet, and a man who has protected his state from the virus without resorting to authoritarian measures as in Democrat states. And throughout it all he kept the Florida state economy viable. In fact, a DeSantis-Noem ticket would be impossible to beat. The Republicans should take heed.

Thus major liberal media want to strangle his 2024 candidacy in the cradle. Hence this hit piece. But, clumsy as CBS has become, they executed the hit with the finesse of a sledgehammer. Now, it’s backfired on them.

FNC: “CBS faced a new round of backlash Tuesday after it issued a second statement standing by its widely panned ’60 Minutes’ report that accused Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of engaging in a ‘pay-for-play’ scheme involving grocery store chain Publix. The venerable newsmagazine suggested during Sunday’s program that the governor had rewarded Publix with the right to distribute the coronavirus vaccine after the company made a $100,000 contribution to his campaign. However, the report was accused of deceptively editing remarks DeSantis made to a correspondent that explained his administration’s arrangement with the popular chain. Democratic state officials, conservative pundits, Publix, and DeSantis himself have rejected the story. Meanwhile, CBS News issued a statement on Tuesday that ignored the story’s key accusation.” When confronted, here is their sad defense. Notice it ignores the main point of contention.

“When Florida state data revealed people of color were vaccinated at a much lower rate than their wealthier neighbors, ‘60 Minutes’ reported the facts surrounding the vaccine’s rollout, which is controlled by the governor. We requested and conducted interviews with dozens of sources and authorities involved. We requested an interview with Gov. Ron DeSantis, he declined; we spoke to State Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz twice, but he declined to be interviewed on camera for our story until well after our deadline. The idea we ignored their perspective is untrue. Counter to his statement yesterday, we also spoke on the record with Palm Beach County Mayor David Kerner. For over 50 years, the facts reported by 60 MINUTES have often stirred debate and prompted strong reactions. Our story Sunday night speaks for itself.” They’re right there. It speaks of a failed hit on a good governor and it’s a sign he’d be a powerful 2024 candidate or CBS wouldn’t have targeted him as early as this.

Moskowitz and Kerner, both Democrats, trashed “60 Minutes” after the story was broadcast. “The reporting was not just based on bad information – it was intentionally false,” Kerner said in a statement on Monday. “’60 Minutes’ should be ashamed.” Others piled on.

“This digging in is really only going to make things worse,” GOP pundit Matt Whitlock predicted. “Everyone has access to the video and can see exactly how they deceptively edited the interview to fit a pre-set narrative, truth be damned.” Yup. It’s hard to make your case when the raw footage shows everyone you’re lying.

This piece was written by David Kamioner on April 7, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette [2] and is used by permission.

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