A video of the latest instalment in the war of words between President Joe Biden and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over COVID-19 measures has been watched more than 1 million times.
DeSantis took umbrage at Biden’s implied criticism of him earlier this week, when the U.S. president expressed concern at the spike in COVID-19 cases in states such as Florida and Texas where mask and vaccine mandates are banned.
Although Biden did not mention names, he said: “Some governors aren’t willing to do the right things to make this happen.”
DeSantis responds to Biden’s “Governor Who” comment:
“I’m not surprised that Biden doesn’t remember me. I guess the question is what else has he forgotten? Biden’s forgotten about the crisis at our southern border.”
pic.twitter.com/tvXUDiTKGV— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 6, 2021
DeSantis, who has prohibited state-wide mask mandates, hit back on Wednesday, saying: “This is a guy who ran for president saying he was gonna ‘shut down the virus’. And what has he done?
“He’s imported more virus from around the world by having a wide-open southern border.”
When Biden was asked what he thought of DeSantis’ comeback, the president replied: “Governor who?”
He added “that is my response” and walking away.
DeSantis referred to the southern border again in responding to Biden’s barb, telling an event at Chipola College in Marianna: “I guess I’m not surprised that Biden doesn’t remember me. I guess the question is ‘What else has he forgotten?’
“Biden’s forgotten about the crisis at our southern border, I can tell you that.
“Biden has forgotten about the inflation that’s biting the budgets of families all throughout our country.
“Biden has forgotten about the demonstrators who are fighting for freedom down in Cuba.
“Biden’s even forgotten about the constitution itself, as we saw with what he did with this moratorium,” he added, I’m the ‘Governor who’ protects parents and their ability to make the right choices for their kids’ education.”
As of Saturday morning, a video of DeSantis’ latest comments shared by the Daily Caller had been viewed more than 1 million times.
DeSantis continues to face criticism over his position prioritizing pushing vaccinations instead of implementing mask mandates, which a spokesperson for the governor told Newsweek this week, “do not work to stop COVID-19.”
While DeSantis has defended his position his approval rating has slumped to 43.7 percent in a poll published on Wednesday.
The survey St. Pete Polls suggested the Republican governor could lose re-election against the Democrat, Representative Charlie Crist.
The Delta variant of COVID is ravaging the Sunshine State, which reported its worst week ever for new cases during the pandemic, with 134,751 cases, seven percent more than the previous record week from January, USA Today reported.
Newsweek has contacted the White House and DeSantis’ office for comment.
Joe Raedle/Getty
