CBS appears to be moving away from a “60 Minutes” report that was widely criticized as a “hit” against Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis by members of both parties.
The report, which aired on Sunday, outlined an alleged “pay-to-play” scheme involving DeSantis accepting a $ 100,000 donation to its Publix supermarket chain campaign in exchange for the right to distribute the COVID vaccine as part of the launch. of State.
Critics criticized the report for a misleading edition that omitted DeSantis’ explanation for the vaccine strategy, the omission of Publix donations to Democrats and the widespread misinformation that is being publicized even by Florida liberals.
The next day, however, there was no mention of the “60 Minutes” report in “CBS This Morning” or in “CBS Evening News”, according to Grabien’s transcripts.
CBS ’60 MINUTES ‘ACCUSED TO EDIT EXCHANGE BETWEEN DISANTIS, REPORTER PUSHING THE’ PAY FOR PLAY ‘NARRATIVE
A clip released on Friday before the show aired showed a tense discussion between DeSantis and “60 Minutes” correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi about what the CBS reporter suggested was influence peddling.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at a news conference at the Publix Super Market in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, on Wednesday, January 13, 2021. (Bob Self / The Florida Times-Union via AP) V
(AP)
“Publix, as you know, donated $ 100,000 to your campaign,” Alfonsi started on the clip. “And then you rewarded them with exclusive vaccination distribution rights in Palm Beach -“
“First of all, what you’re saying is wrong,” interrupted DeSantis.
“How is it not paid to play?” Alfonsi then asked.
“This is a false narrative,” replied DeSantis. “I met with the county mayor, I met with the administrator, I met with all the people in Palm Beach County and said, ‘Here are some of the options: we can do more drive-thru sites, we can give more to hospitals , we can do Publix. ‘And they said,’ We think it would be the easiest thing for our residents. “
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Alfonsi then narrated that Palm Beach County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay said that DeSantis “never met her about the Publix deal”.
“The criticism here is that you get paid to play, governor,” Alfonsi told DeSantis.
“And it is wrong, it is wrong,” said the governor. “It’s a false narrative. I just let you down from the narrative. And you don’t care about the facts. Because, obviously, I exposed it to you in a way that is irrefutable.”
However, as conservative writer AG Hamilton first pointed out, “60 Minutes” cut several minutes from the press conference, during which DeSantis explained what led to the deal with Publix.
“First of all, the first pharmacies that had [the vaccine] they were CVS and Walgreens and they had a long-term care mission, so they were going to the long-term care facility. They received the vaccine in mid-December, they started going to long-term care facilities in the third week of December to do LTCs, “DeSantis told Alfonsi.” So that was their mission, it was very important and we trust them. do it. As soon as we entered January, we wanted to expand the distribution points.
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“So, yes, you had the counties, some drive-thru sites, hospitals that were doing a lot, but we wanted to take that to more communities. So we looked for other retail pharmacies: Publix, Walmart, obviously CVS and Walgreens had to end this mission and we said we’ll use it as soon as you’re done with it, ”continued DeSantis.
He went on to say that Publix was the “first to raise his hand” to say that he was ready to distribute the vaccine. It launched the vaccine on an “experimental basis” in three counties, which received “100% positive” feedback from the elderly.
A CBS spokesman supported the report, telling Fox News: “As we always do for clarity, 60 MINUTES used the part of the governor’s response of more than 2 minutes that directly addressed the correspondent’s question.”
That was not the only part of the report that raised eyebrows.
The story also seemed to condemn DeSantis’ decision to vaccinate the elderly in his state, rather than the younger frontline workers. Alfonsi went even further by casting doubt on DeSantis’ reasoning that the elderly were the most vulnerable to the virus.
“The Florida rollout started in a very typical way. The first doses were given to healthcare professionals and nursing home residents in early December,” began Alfonsi. “But then, a few weeks later, Governor Ron DeSantis, breaking the CDC guidelines, announced that he would not vaccinate essential teachers and workers next, but rather put the elderly first, making anyone 65 and over eligible. the vaccine, the first in the country to do that. “
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“DeSantis said that the elderly are at the greatest risk,” she added, implying that it was an unfounded statement made by the governor, rather than a response to data showing a higher number of deaths among older Americans.
Recent demographic data from the Centers for Disease Control show that about 80% of deaths from coronavirus occurred among people aged 65 and over, and 95% of deaths occurred among people over 50.
The report went on to suggest that DeSantis was to blame for having 4.5 million Florida seniors “competing with each other” for the vaccine and over the state’s Department of Health telephone lines “failing” and websites “breaking”.
Critics in the conservative media called the “60 Minutes” report a “hit” and “hatchet”, but DeSantis also received support from the Democrats of the State of the Sun.
“@ 60 minutes I said it before and I will say it again. @Publix was recommended by [Florida Division of Emergency Management – FDEM] and [Florida Health Department] since the other pharmacies were not ready to start. Time course! Full stop! No one from the governor’s office suggested Publix. It is pure nonsense “, reacted the director of the FDEM, Jared Moskowitz, on Sunday night.
Dave Kerner, the Democratic mayor of Palm Beach County, went even further, accusing “60 Minutes” of “intentionally” deceiving the country.
CRITICS BLAST ’60 MINUTES ‘FOR’ FALSE NARRATIVE ‘THAT DESANTIS ENGAGED PUBLIX IN THE PAY FOR GAME VACCINE SCHEME
“The report was not just based on bad information – it was intentionally false,” Kerner said in a statement on Monday. “I know this because I volunteered to provide my information about Palm Beach County’s vaccination efforts and the ’60 Minutes’ refused. They know that the governor came to Palm Beach County and met with me and the county administrator and we asked to expand the state’s partnership with Publix to Palm Beach County … “
“We have been facing this pandemic for over a year. Our residents, like all Americans, are tired. And the media is getting worse. They are determined to divide us by cheap views and clicks. ’60 Minutes’ should be ashamed,” he said. Kerner continued, adding that the program left its perspective out of the story because it “confuses their narrative”.
Kerner also thanked DeSantis for his work in helping Palm Beach County.
“Because of your efforts, working in coordination with Palm Beach County authorities, more than 275,000 seniors in our county – representing more than 75% of the total senior population – have been vaccinated. I am proud of how our municipal and government carried out this important mission and the results speak for themselves “, said Kerner.
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Meanwhile, Publix called the notion that he received special access “absolutely false and offensive”.
“The irresponsible suggestion that there was a connection between campaign contributions made to Governor DeSantis and our willingness to join other pharmacies in support of the state’s vaccine distribution efforts is absolutely false and offensive,” said a spokesman for the state. Publix to Fox News. “We are proud of our pharmacy associates to administer over 1.5 million doses of vaccine to date and to join other retailers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia to do our part to help. our communities to emerge from the pandemic. “
Brian Flood, Evie Fordham of Fox News contributed to this report.