Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) slammed President Joe Biden (D) during a Fox News interview on Wednesday night over the administration limiting Florida’s supply of monoclonal antibody treatments and over the administration’s crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border.
“This works,” DeSantis said of the monoclonal antibody treatment, which he helped bring significant national attention to. “And here’s the thing, when it was apparent that it worked, that is when the Biden administration decided to take from Florida and to cut our allotment.”
“And so what we had to do, and the reason is, is they control all the Regeneron, they have a deal with them, so they dramatically cut our supply,” DeSantis said. “So what we did; we did a deal with GlaxoSmithKline, who also has an effective monoclonal antibody called Sotrovimab. So we now have that in the state of Florida. And our message to Floridians is we want to get you the treatment you need. And Biden didn’t want to give it to you, but I’m going to come hell or high water to do whatever I can to get it for you.”
DeSantis suggested that the reason that Biden did it was to take “punitive” action “against Florida, because he’s so obsessed with attacking Florida.”
“He does that rather than does his job,” DeSantis added. “But at the end of the day, if there’s a single person in this country who needs this treatment and whose lives could be saved, and they can’t get it because of Biden’s playing politics? You know, how pathetic is that? That is not leadership.”
DeSantis also slammed the administration over its border crisis, saying that they were intentionally allowing the southern border to be flooded with illegal aliens.
“And what we saw was we have people from over 100 nationalities that are making their way to Mexico, making their way to the southern border because Biden’s made it clear, if you just get here, we’ll put you on a bus; we’ll put you on the plane; we’ll send you all over the fruited plain,” he said. “So we have Americans having a hell of a time getting out of Afghanistan. And yet, if you just come illegally, you basically get put on your way to communities all across the country. It’s a choice that they’re making. This is intentional. And if our lawsuit succeeds, and they have to end catch and release, you know, they may be forced to actually do the right thing for a change.”
WATCH:
Ron DeSantis destroys Joe Biden on COVID response: He's obsessed with attacking Florida and not doing his job. pic.twitter.com/Rd2c6RU2TJ
— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) September 30, 2021
TRANSCRIPT:
SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: First thing you did when COVID hit is you mobilized every state agency to protect the elderly population of your state, you did a great job. Then it became a hotspot with the Delta variant. We had what’s called breakthrough cases, fully vaccinated people, they were getting COVID. Okay, temperature usually plays a role. Now, it’s interesting because three weeks ago, you’re getting the crap beat out of you. I’ve looked at the numbers; they’ve gone down dramatically. You built these monoclonal antibody centers all throughout the state. Now Joe Biden’s rationing it. Why? I understand they don’t need to, because we have plenty of it. And you have to now go out and buy it yourself. Is that right?
RON DESANTIS, FLORIDA GOVERNOR: Yes, Sean. We set up 25 different sites throughout the state, telling people that early treatment saves lives, what we were seeing is when we had the Delta surge, most of the people being admitted to the hospital not only didn’t get monoclonal antibodies, they didn’t even know about monoclonal antibodies. This was not something that people like Fauci were talking about. And so we helped raise the profile and also expand access. And the results are, the statewide hospital census for COVID patients has gone down 34 days in a row, our hospital admissions on a daily basis have gone down about 75%.
HANNITY: Oh, no more negative articles.
DESANTIS: So, this works. This works. And here’s the thing, when it was apparent that it worked, that is when the Biden administration decided to take from Florida and to cut our allotment. And so what we had to do, and the reason is, is they control all the regeneron, they have a deal with them. So they dramatically cut our supply. So what we did, we did a deal with GlaxoSmithKline, who also has an effective monoclonal antibody called Sotrovimab. So we now have that in the state of Florida. And our message to Floridians is we want to get you the treatment you need. And Biden didn’t want to give it to you, but I’m going to come hell or high water to do whatever I can to get it for you.
HANNITY: Biden never mentioned monoclonal antibodies. You had already set up your centers in Florida, you acted immediately. And it shown to be effective, with the breakthrough cases especially, and also for people unvaccinated. And then he, then he rations it. I’ve checked, and what I’ve discovered is there’s no shortage of regeneron, or monoclonal antibodies in the country, is there? So that would mean there’s no reason to ration anything, right?
DESANTIS: Well, they say there’s not and if that’s true, then you’re right, Sean. It’s just punitive against Florida, because he’s so obsessed with attacking Florida. He does that rather than does his job. And I think though they’re trying to husband it because they understand, delta is going to hit every aspect of this country. At some point, the fall and winter, northern states have a different season, we tend to get it in the summertime. So I think they’re doing that because they see what’s on the horizon. But at the end of the day, if there’s a single person in this country who needs this treatment and whose lives could be saved, and they can’t get it because of Biden’s playing politics. You know, how pathetic is that? That is not leadership.
HANNITY: I’m not a doctor, ask your doctor. But my understanding, everything I’ve read is you need to get it early. I have a friend that was unvaccinated, 74 years old, got it within 24 hours and was fine. His 68 year old wife unvaccinated? Fine. One of my best friends, fully vaccinated, breakthrough case, got it in 24 hours, fine. But ask your doctor. Let me talk about the lawsuit as it relates to illegal immigration. Give us give us your thinking. And do you think it’s going to be effective and work?
DESANTIS: Jen Psaki said, Oh these republicans what’s your ideas? Our ideas very simple. Our lawsuit says, end catch and release. If they end catch and release and they reinstitute remain in Mexico and finish construction of the border wall, guess what, crisis will be ended, people will stop even coming because they know they’re not going to be able to. What we saw, I had people from Florida down at the border in Del Rio. And what we saw was we have people from over 100 nationalities that are making their way to Mexico, making their way to the southern border because Biden’s made it clear, if you just get here, we’ll put you on a bus, we’ll put you on the plane, we’ll send you all over the fruited plain. So we have Americans having a hell of a time getting out of Afghanistan. And yet, if you just come illegally, you basically get put on your way to communities all across the country. It’s a choice that they’re making. This is intentional. And if our lawsuit succeeds, and they have to end catch and release, you know, they may be forced to actually do the right thing for a change.
HANNITY: I noticed the media no matter how many times you’ve answered the question about are you considering a run for the presidency in 2024, and you give the same answer, that they still keep asking you. What’s your answer to those people that ask again and again?
DESANTIS: Yeah, I’m not considering anything beyond doing my job. We’ve got a lot of stuff going on in Florida. I’m going to be running for reelection next year. And we’re also working on a lot of things in the state beyond just the governor’s race. We got schoolboard races, Sean, I want to make sure people are not supporting critical race theory, making sure that you know parents have the ability to send their kid to school the way they want to. There’s a lot of huge issues, that is way down the road. It is not anything that I’m planning for.