I guess 60 Minutes felt they hadn’t already burned enough of their credibility because they’ve put out another statement regarding their hit piece on Ron DeSantis. This time, they attempted to change their entire story, asserting the supposed truthfulness of a narrative the original report wasn’t even centered on.

(related Emails Between 60 Minutes and Ron DeSantis’ Office Make Things Even Worse and Tucker Carlson Interviews Ron DeSantis Over 60 Minutes Hit Piece, and an Absolutely Beatdown Occurs)

60 minutes just completely turned on a dime in their accusation against DeSantis. In the original story, it was a "pay-for-play" with Publix. Now, it's "people in certain communities not being able to access vaccines bc they didn't have a Publix near them." https://t.co/iqdYeWGen2

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) April 8, 2021

There are two things to note here. As Greg says, 60 Minutes’ original, false narrative was that there was a corrupt, pay-to-play scheme setup between Publix and DeSantis. Multiple Democrat officials came out to accuse CBS News of intentionally lying about that and obfuscating from the statements they gave to 60 Minutes. In short, Publix is the largest grocery store chain in Florida, with over 800 stores. They were also the only retailer ready to go on the scale needed at the time. As DeSantis previously noted, CVS and Walgreens were already occupied administering vaccines to the elderly in long-term care facilities.

Yet, past that, 60 Minutes’ newest statement also propagates a lie. DeSantis did not leave more rural, underserved communities to twist in the wind. In fact, he set up initiatives to get vaccine sites set up at churches and other locations in communities like the Glades. Anquan Boldin, a former NFL star, actually thanked DeSantis for his work in doing so.

Thank you @AnquanBoldin for lending your support to our vaccination efforts in Florida. We are working to reach every corner of our state to ensure access to vaccines for #SeniorsFirst. pic.twitter.com/ethYxDuZ0J

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) February 6, 2021

Lastly, I want to point out exactly what 60 Minutes is trying to do here. Because their initial report has already been ripped apart, including by left-wing fact-checkers who had to reluctantly admit the clips were deceptively edited, CBS News needs a redirect. And what better redirect than to attempt to play the race card? By bringing up the Glades, 60 Minutes wants to make it seem like DeSantis didn’t care about getting poor, black residents the vaccine. The facts tell a different story, but they know there’s no surer way to push back on valid criticism than to scream “racist!” at someone else. That’s all this is, in my opinion.

60 Minutes doesn’t get to change the entire premise of their story to obfuscate from the fact that they published fake news. Their report was a lie and used manipulated video to target Ron DeSantis with completely false allegations. That’s a decision they have to own and the consequences that come with it. Cheap appeals to racial politics won’t work here.