Liberal press and political forces are out to get Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. They know he could win in 2024 and is in fact the strongest Republican contender for the White House. The Associated Press tried to smear DeSantis. He fought back.

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FNC: “Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis shot back at The Associated Press on Monday after the outlet’s incoming CEO accused his press secretary of harassing one of its reporters, saying the AP received deserved pushback for a partisan ‘smear’ that could cost lives.

In a letter to Daisy Veerasingham, DeSantis blasted the AP for its ‘temerity’ to complain about criticism a reporter received last week over his story that suggested a link between the governor’s touting of a COVID antibody drug from Regeneron and a political donor’s investment in the company.

Last week, Veerasingham wrote his office to accuse DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw of ‘harassing behavior’ and activating an ‘online mob’ against AP reporter Brendan Farrington over the widely panned story headlined, ‘DeSantis top donor invests in COVID drug governor promotes.’ The controversial AP story seemed to imply DeSantis was promoting Regeneron’s COVID antibody treatment because a Chicago-based hedge fund that donated to a pro-DeSantis political committee also owns shares of the company.

However, the AP also acknowledged the drug is highly effective and has been touted by the Biden administration as well. The story also noted the DeSantis donor’s hedge fund, Citadel, had a smaller share in Regeneron than BlackRock, which has donated more to Democrats, and that Citadel’s investment in Regeneron ‘is a tiny fraction of its overall $39 billion in investments.’ DeSantis didn’t hold back in a remarkable open letter from a politician to a news organization.”

DeSantis: “I assumed your letter was to notify me that you were issuing a retraction of the partisan smear piece you published last week. Instead, you had the temerity to complain about the deserved blowback that your botched and discredited attempt to concoct a political narrative has received. The ploy will not work to divert attention from the fact that the Associated Press published a false narrative that will lead some to decline effective treatment for COVID infections.

“While the public’s trust in corporate outlets like the AP is at historic lows, there is no doubt that some will decline to seek life-saving treatment as a result of the AP’s inflammatory headline. You cannot recklessly smear your political opponents and then expect to be immune from criticism,” he wrote. “The corporate media’s ‘clicks-first, facts-later’ approach to journalism is harming our country. You succeeded in publishing a misleading, clickbait headline about one of your political opponents, but at the expense of deterring individuals infected with COVID from seeking life-saving treatment, which will cost lives. Was it worth it?”