Oh, look. “60 Minutes” decided to do a hatchet job on Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida. Can we guess why, everyone?

Let’s first look at what “60 Minutes” did before we consider the why. The show decided to run a piece about Governor DeSantis and his supposed “pay to play” with the Publix grocery store chain. Here’s what “60 Minutes” claims happened. In January, DeSantis announced that the Publix stores would be offering the COVID vaccination in their pharmacies in a partnership with the state. The narrative that got pushed – and that “60 Minutes” attempted to run with – was that Publix got the vaccines because they donated to DeSantis, and that Publix stores were LESS accessible to the public, especially in minority communities, while wealthy Floridians got the vaccine first.

Campaign finance reports obtained by 60 Minutes show that weeks before the governor’s announcement, Publix donated $100,000 to his political action committee, Friends of Ron DeSantis.”

Julie Jenkins Fancelli, heiress to the Publix fortune, has given $55,000 to the governor’s PAC in the past. And in November, Fancelli’s brother-in-law, Hoyt R. Barnett, a retired Publix executive, donated $25,000.”

This was “pay to play,” “60 Minutes” reporter Sharyn Alfonsi insisted, even though Publix has bluntly denied it (something “60 Minutes” was forced to acknowledge in an update added to their story). But because DeSantis wouldn’t talk to her, Alfonsi decided to show up at a press conference to ask her questions.

"What you're saying is wrong," Gov DeSantis tells Sharyn Alfonsi in response to a question about whether the Publix grocery store chain gained influence through a campaign donation on his behalf. "It's wrong. It's a fake narrative," he says. https://t.co/gyrW9hYPTg pic.twitter.com/5rBq7v5VOA

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) April 4, 2021

And here is where Alfonsi and “60 Minutes” fall off the deep end. Her “confrontation” with Governor DeSantis was filmed in its entirety. And what “60 Minutes” showed on Sunday night was chopped and edited in order to make DeSantis look bad. Here is the full exchange, to be compared with the video clip tweeted out by “60 Minutes” above.

Huh. Nothing from Alfonsi’s report about how CVS and Walgreens were initially committed to providing the vaccine to long term care facilities, and how they would be providing the vaccine to the communities they were in, once they finished vaccinating seniors. Why, it’s almost as if Alfonsi DIDN’T report it because then she WOULDN’T HAVE THE NARRATIVE SHE WANTED. And the narrative was clearly set to be “DeSantis BAD, pay to play, rich people got the vaccinations instead of poor minority groups.”

And you know who says this is a hit job? A Democrat in a position to actually know the details.

This is Jared Moskowitz, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. He’s a Democrat, served as one in the state legislature until 2019, and campaigned for Gore and Obama. He’s not falling for this absolute garbage, and neither should you. https://t.co/Ng3pyNI87W

— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) April 5, 2021

Jared Moskowitz was abundantly clear in his previous tweets before this “60 Minutes” report aired that Publix was picked because they were ready to go when asked. This is “60 Minutes” picking up on a Democrat opposition hit piece – one which DeSantis’s future Democrat opponent is more than happy to highlight – in a blatant attempt to smear him.

And now we get to the why. Why is the media picking on Florida, and DeSantis in particular? A distraction from the many failings of Andrew Cuomo? Could be. Frustration over the fact that Florida never locked down in the way many other blue states did, and yet has a lesser death toll than one would expect from the second-oldest state in the country? It’s possible. Jealousy that Florida’s schools have been open and are showing blue states how to get it done, without crumpling in fear over COVID? Maybe.

All of these things start adding up. The media has targeted DeSantis because he refused to go into lockdown, spread the fear porn, and worship at the altar of Anthony Fauci. And when they scream “just wait two weeks!” nothing ever turns out the way they want. The media don’t like being proved wrong. And DeSantis keeps proving them wrong.

Not only does he prove them wrong, but he keeps getting mentioned in the same sentences as “2024.” Now, it is way too early to start making guesses about 2024, but the media, even as they raise hue and cry, are secretly praying for Donald Trump to be the Republican candidate against Kamala Harris (or Joe Biden, if they manage to keep him upright for that long). Without Trump, the media’s lives have no meaning – and their ratings have collapsed. They secretly WANT the Bad Orange Man. They NEED the Bad Orange Man. And the idea that it might be DeSantis – who is running for re-election in Florida in 2022 – who is proving them wrong without sending out mean tweets, has them scared. Scared enough to try and create a scandal that will be handed around through the incestuous media circle, until it is taken as absolute fact (like the media has done with the Georgia voting law). And the media will be able to walk away from any accountability.

And nobody at 60 mins will pay a price for this. Nobody will be forced to apologize, be asked why they selectively edited an interview, or why they omitted key pieces of the vaccine decision. It will just be repeated by other outlets as a statement of fact. Mission accomplished.

— Alicia Smith (@Alicia_Smith19) April 5, 2021

Lazy journalism and political hit jobs seem to be all “60 Minutes” is capable of. After all, if Dan Rather can still be taken seriously in media circles, why would they have any reason to change?

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Featured image: Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, official portrait, public domain