Florida Governor Feuds with White House as COVID Cases Rise

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is feuding with the White House as COVID-19 cases rise.

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As the number of coronavirus infections increases across the Sun Belt, President Joe Biden asked GOP governors to “get out of the way” of efforts to contain the virus.

DeSantis fired back that he did not want to “hear a blip about COVID from you, thank you.”

The exchange was unusually direct and bitter.

But it was a sign that the now-familiar cudgels of virus politics — debates pitting “freedoms” against masks and restrictions — remain potent weapons.

And Florida's Republican governor, in particular, appears eager to carry that fight into next year’s midterms, and beyond.