Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis defended himself against criticism after being spotted at Sunday’s Super Bowl without wearing a face mask.
“Someone said, ‘Hey, you were at the Super Bowl without a mask,’” the Republican governor told a reporter Monday. “But how the hell am I going to be able to drink a beer with a mask on? Come on. I had to watch the Bucs win.”
Caught DeSantis before he left an event and he brought up this picture on his own by saying, "Someone said, 'hey, you were at the Super Bowl without a mask' … but how the hell am I going to be able to drink a beer with a mask on? Come on. I had to watch the Bucs win." https://t.co/OEDAeW2eGM
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) February 8, 2021
DeSantis’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic has been criticized by Democrats due to his opposition to strict lockdown measures and restrictions that he has argued are overreaching and unnecessarily burdensome on the economy.
Before the Super Bowl, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor announced that she would impose a mask requirement on the city for people indoors who are unable to social distance.
“This is an emergency now,” Castor said last week. “I’m willing to put a mandatory mask ordinance for the city of Tampa right now to protect citizens.”
Social media users, health officials, and news networks voiced frustration leading up to and during the Super Bowl after various videos showed Super Bowl attendees and watchers in the Tampa area gathering in large groups without masks.
While coronavirus cases in the U.S. are dropping and vaccinations are increasing, this morning there are new concerns over last night's #SuperBowl gatherings as potential super-spreaders and the dangers on new mutations of the virus. @tomcostellonbc has more. pic.twitter.com/FDOTbO7HFG
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) February 8, 2021
A virulent new strain of the coronavirus is spreading rapidly in Florida. https://t.co/uNeUblHlMg
— HuffPost (@HuffPost) February 8, 2021
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, who led his team to a 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in the big game, was also attacked on social media for walking into the stadium maskless before the game.
Author: Andrew Mark Miller, Social Media Producer
Source: Washington Examiner : DeSantis defends being unmasked at Super Bowl: ‘How the hell am I going to be able to drink a beer with a mask?’
