Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Refers to U.S. Pres. Joe Biden's Delaware Beach Stay When Slamming Critics for Being Absent in December As Omicron Variant Spreads Around the State
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis slammed critics who accused him of being absent in December as the Omicron variant sweeps through the state. His critics include Democrat gubernatorial candidate Nikki Fried.
DeSantis noted in a press conference that perhaps he should have been "at the beach in Delaware" and that people would have been happy about it, according to a Newsmax report.
DeSantis' comment referred to U.S. President Joe Biden's Delaware Beach stay at his beachside property as the nation grapples with the surge of COVID cases and spread of the Omicron variant.
The Republican governor said he only caught word of many thinking he was on vacation last Wednesday.
He noted that he just was with his wife's cancer treatments. Case DeSantis announced in October her breast cancer diagnosis while assuring that she would "end up good on the other end of it."
DeSantis noted that he accompanied his wife to all her chemotherapy treatments, and he was there most of the time.
He added that the idea that it would be considered a vacation was offensive to a lot of people, especially those who have gone through breast cancer treatments.
Fried and DeSantis' press secretary, Christina Pushaw, had verbal jabs on Twitter regarding the matter.
Fried tweeted that "as a governor, I'll show up." Pushaw replied and asked Friend if someone she loves gets cancer, "you wouldn't show up to their treatments?," Breitbart News reported.
DeSantis said that just because he was not in front of the cameras every day, it does not mean that he and his team were not working behind the scenes to fight the spread of the Omicron variant.
Ron DeSantis' Delaware Beach Comment
Biden spent the holiday at his Delaware beach house property with no public events scheduled as the Omicron variant spreads across the nation. He also said that there is no "federal solution" to the ongoing COVID pandemic, which Republicans criticized him for.
The White House called a lid on that day, which means that there will be no public events with the president, according to a Daily Mail report.
Biden met with 25 governors to address the ongoing pandemic. The president told governors that the federal government will have their back, adding that if they need something, they should say it.
In Florida, COVID cases have risen by 948 percent in just two weeks as the highly transmissible Omicron variant continues to drive a huge number of infections and hospitalizations in the U.S.
Meanwhile, cases have risen by more than 100 percent across the country, according to The Guardian report.
Many areas were facing a shortage in testing equipment, and infections have doubled in the last seven days to an average.
Local and state officials cautioned that residents were waiting hours in a sometimes miles-long queue to get a test in Florida.
State Sen. Shevrin Jones accused the state health department and DeSantis of being missing in action.
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Written by: Mary Webber
WATCH: DeSantis responds to inquires about recent absence amid coronavirus crisis -from Washington Post