The left are terrified of Ron DeSantis, and that was never made more apparent than how 60 Minutes chose to handle the supposed “scandals” surrounding Florida’s vaccine program. RedState initially covered the absurdity last night. As Jennifer Van Laar put it in her write-up, the memo has gone out to destroy DeSantis, facts be damned.

While 60 Minutes attempted to make it seem like DeSantis had been paid off to allow Publix to host early, pop-up vaccination sites, the truth is much more mundane. You see, Publix has over 800 locations in Florida and also has large facilities and parking lots, a combination unmatched by smaller stores like CVS and Walgreens. Further, and more importantly, they were the only major outlet ready to go in January to start distribution. This is largely due to Publix already taking the lead in delivering millions of flu vaccinations a year. In other words, they had the systems and infrastructure in place.

But because Publix has donated to DeSantis’ PAC, that must mean corruption was afoot, right? Well, that’s what 60 Minutes wanted you to believe at least.

It should also be pointed out that @60minutes got caught deceptively editing the exchange between DeSantis and their reporter.

They cut out a big part of his answer where he explained the process and made the reporter look like an idiot.

— The Partyman (@PartymanRandy) April 5, 2021

Notice the use of the term “obtained” like 60 Minutes went full ninja in getting these documents. In reality, they are public domain. It would take you about two minutes to find the same information. What CBS did was take said information and paint it as nefarious when it’s clearly not. And why did 60 Minutes not mention that Publix has donated to Democrats too? Wouldn’t that seem prudent to say given it provides much-needed context?

Of course, they also deceptively edited DeSantis’ defense to all this nonsense so nothing should surprise us anymore.

Regardless, as RedState pointed out yesterday, the former head of Florida’s Emergency Management organization, a Democrat who campaigned for Gore and Obama, debunked 60 Minutes’ framing and assertions.

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

And with that, the entire “report” is shown to be false and worthless. There’s no actual journalism here, but rather, a deranged, hysterical admission that they are absolutely horrified by the possibility of Ron DeSantis running in 2024. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the media this scared, this early, of a possible presidential candidate. With Donald Trump, the media were convinced he’d be easy to beat right up until he won. With John McCain, they loved him until he challenged Barack Obama, at which point they flipped the switch.

But with DeSantis, we are sitting nearly a full three years out from the 2024 presidential campaign and the media are already showing their cards. I maintain that all they are doing is making him stronger, though. There’s nothing Republicans love more than someone who owns the media, and DeSantis does that in spades. You can expect him to rip 60 Minutes a new one after this spectacle. You can also expect the unfair derision he’s receiving to become a rallying cry.

What we are witnessing is the transformation of an already heavily biased press into an open opposition wing for the Democrat party. 60 Minutes, say what you will about it, was one of the few “news” shows left that maintained some level of seriousness and credibility. They’ve thrown that away now, and for what? To lie about DeSantis because they are scared of him? In the end, it won’t be worth it to their brand, but those who operate with such disregard for the truth for partisan gain rarely calculate long-term effects.

DeSantis isn’t going anywhere, and 60 Minutes’ reputation is in tatters. All in all, I’d say this backfired in glorious fashion.