The Mayor of Palm Beach County, Florida, on Monday joined in the criticism of the “60 Minutes’” report about the coronavirus vaccine launch in Florida, calling it “intentionally false”.
A story about the CBS Sharyn Alfonsi vaccination campaign that aired on “60 Minutes” Sunday made a series of accusations against the Gov. Ron DeSantis
Ron DeSantisDeSantis discusses with ’60 minutes ‘the vaccine launch:’ What you’re saying is wrong ‘Why some Republicans think vaccine passports will backfire on Democrats Florida Governor: State looking to prevent’ a situation of real catastrophic flood ‘MORE (R), including linking its partnership with Publix supermarkets to distribute vaccines in its pharmacies for the recent contributions of the company’s political action committee.
According to the campaign funding reports quoted by “60 Minutes,” Publix donated $ 100,000 to Ron DeSantis’ PAC Friends weeks before giving the supermarket exclusive rights to distribute the vaccine in Palm Beach County.
CBS News also noted that Julie Jenkins Fancelli, the heir to the Publix fortune, has donated $ 55,000 to the governor’s PAC in the past, in addition to Fancelli’s brother-in-law, Hoyt R. Barnett, a retired Publix executive, who donated $ 25,000 in November.
When asked about the donations and the Publix deal, DeSantis told Alfonsi that it was a “false narrative”.
“This is a false narrative. I met with the county mayor. I met with the administrator. I met with all the folks at 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, ‘”said DeSantis.
Publix also told “60 Minutes” that there is no link between his campaign contributions and his partnership with the state.
On Monday, Democratic Mayor of Palm Beach County, Dave Kerner, denounced the report in “60 Minutes”, claiming in a statement that the county asked to expand the state’s partnership with Publix.
“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, ”said Kerner.
“We also discussed our own local plans to expand mass vaccination centers across the country, which the governor has been incredibly supportive of. We asked and he answered. They had this information and omitted it because it harms their narrative, ”he continued.
Kerner added that he knows that the report “was not just based on bad information – it was intentionally false” because he offered to “provide my view on Palm Beach County’s vaccination efforts and refused 60 minutes”.
Palm Beach County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay, however, called the mayor’s statement “NO need.” She wrote on Twitter that the county “NEVER REQUEST A UNIQUE DISTRIBUTION!”
McKinlay added that Kerner told her that DeSantis told him to hold a private meeting, although it was not immediately clear what meeting she was referring to.
I respect the mayor, but that is NOT accurate. Facts:
1. Gov said he met everyone at PBC. He didn `t do.
2. Kerner told me that he was instructed by the government team to keep mtg private
3. Kerner & Baker told me that they never asked for an exclusive Publix distribution.
WE NEVER ASK FOR SINGLE DISTRIBUTION! 1/2 https://t.co/8MVUa4gKjJ– Melissa McKinlay (@VoteMcKinlay) April 5, 2021
When asked about Kerner’s statement, a spokesman for “60 Minutes” told The Hill that “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 question of the correspondent ”.
The spokesman also noted that the program had twice asked DeSantis for an in-depth interview.