Jen Psaki Scolds DeSantis: At a Certain Point You Have to Choose Between Public Health and Politics

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki called out Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ recent Covid policy decisions, telling reporters that “at a certain point” leaders must choose between public health and politics.

At Psaki’s most recent daily briefing, NBC News White House correspondent Kelly O’Donnell noted the record number of hospitalizations in Florida, and asked: “is there any concern about the number of resources available, rationing of care, additional equipment that needs to be sent in, or personnel to assist?”

Psaki first responded that the White House and the government “stand ready and available to provide any assistance that is needed, whether that is Florida or any other part of the country,” and noted that “We are at a very different point in the pandemic than we were a couple of months ago. We have ample vaccine. We have ample experts. We have ample resources to provide them.”

Psaki then took aim at Florida, and the anti-mandate policies that DeSantis has reinforced recently:

You know, I will note, as you touched on there, 20 percent of the cases we’re seeing are in Florida. There are steps and precautions that can be taken, including encouraging people to get vaccinated, encouraging people to wear masks, including allowing — allowing schools to mandate masks, and allow — allowing kids to wear masks, which is not the current state of play in Florida.

So, you know, at a certain point, leaders are going to have to choose whether they’re going to follow public health guidelines or they’re going to follow politics, and we certainly encourage all governors to follow the public health guidelines.

Watch above via The White House.