Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis took to a national stage to battle US President Joe Biden. This came as Biden accused him of being the reason why the pandemic worsened, which had once abated. The Florida Governor had a message for Biden, saying he is not getting out of the way as “​​his rejection of masking and public health guidance risks fueling his state’s raging COVID19 cases”. 

DeSantis will be standing in presidential elections during the next term as the Republican primary if Donald Trump doesn’t. This is believed to be a part of his strengthening his stewardship of the emergency. 

DeSantis dismissed the advice of the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention that kids, including the ones unvaccinated and under 12 should wear masks in class. The governor had earlier said he would withhold funding for schools that implement the advice, stating it should be the parent’s decision. One school superintendent, Leon County’s Rocky Hanna, wrote to DeSantis and said, “I’m asking you to allow us the flexibility and the autonomy to make the decisions for our schools that best fit our local data and information in Leon County,” Hanna wrote.

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“It is the challenge of every leader to not allow pride or politics cloud our better judgment, and to be guided by community input, science and experts in the field,” she added.

“Joe Biden suggests if you don’t do locked down policies then you should ‘get out of the way.’ But let me tell you this, if you are coming after the rights of parents in Florida, I’m standing in your way,” he said.

He further accused New York City of threatening a free society by creating a “bio-medical security state” with their vaccination mandate. 

“Joe Biden suggests if you don’t do locked down policies then you should ‘get out of the way.’ But let me tell you this, if you are coming after the rights of parents in Florida, I’m standing in your way,” he said. 

He continued, “”Why don’t you do your job? Why don’t you get this border secure and until you do that, I don’t want to hear a blip about Covid from you.”

This comes as Joe Biden urged state officials to put their powers to use in curbing the COVID spread on Tuesday.