Republican governors continue to deny the reality and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed more than 650 thousand Americans and upended daily life in the United States for more than a year.
In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis has banned businesses from verifying vaccinations for their customers and worked to ban mask mandates in schools. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has also worked to ban mask mandates and resisted any statewide action against the pandemic.
But the lesser-known governor of Mississippi, Tate Reeves, received backlash on CNN this past weekend as he attempted to defend his own pandemic response to host Jake Tapper.
Watch below
"If Mississippi were its own country, you would be second in the world only to Peru in terms of deaths per capita... With all due respect, governor, your way is failing." CNN's @jaketapper presses Mississippi GOP Gov. Tate Reeves on the state's Covid-19 death rate. #CNNSOTUpic.twitter.com/P93FGrhroi— CNN Politics (@CNN Politics) 1632059544
Currently, Mississippi has the highest rate of COVID-19 deaths in the nation, with Tapper pointing out that the Hospitality State would be second only to Peru in death rates if it were its own country.
Tapper continued:
"With all due respect, governor, your way is failing. Are you going to try to change this horrible statistic from what you're doing already?"
Reeves responded:
"Yes, well, obviously, the -- in Mississippi, our legislature is a part-time legislature. Sometimes, I wonder if in America if our Congress was part-time, we wouldn't be in a better position."
"Better position than what?" Tapper responded, "Your state is second worst in the world, I mean, how could you say that?"
The governor continued to blame the Biden administration for its supposed suppression of monoclonal treatments and claim that deaths were a "lagging indicator," but at no point did he say what he was going to do to turn the devastating trend around. Instead, he promoted "personal responsibility" of Mississippians to talk to their doctor about getting vaccinated.
Tapper called him out.
"So, you're not going to change anything?...You're not going to change anything?"
Social media users joined him in decrying Reeves' approach.
This is a must watch moment. This guy is dancing around the fact that Covid is spreading like wildfire in MS & he hasn\u2019t done a damn thing to address it. You get similar pablum from other GOP Governors like McMaster & Abbott. \n\nBottomline\u2026 Leaders should lead or step aside!https://twitter.com/cnnpolitics/status/1439588188201308172\u00a0\u2026— Jaime Harrison, DNC Chair (@Jaime Harrison, DNC Chair) 1632074150
If Mississippi were a country it\u2019d be 2nd in the world for per capita COVID deaths\n\nGov @tatereeves offers 0 solutions, says MS believes in \u201cpersonal responsibility,\u201d then takes 0 responsibility & blames Kentucky & West Virginia for dead Mississippianspic.twitter.com/laDvKpo0Zn— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@Qasim Rashid, Esq.) 1632075149
Only one country in the world has a higher #COVID19 death rate than the state of Mississippi.\n\nLast month Gov. Tate Reeves said Southern Christians were \u2018less scared\u2019 of COVID because they don\u2019t fear death. He\u2019s offering eternal life instead of vaccines.pic.twitter.com/YPJR2lnlSt— Richard Hine (@Richard Hine) 1632081496
Yes @tatereeves, deaths are a lagging indicator, but that has nothing to do the total per-capita deaths since the pandemic began, bc that's what @jaketapper was asking about & as a data guy you know that.\nAnd it's only going to go up because of your lack of leadership in my statehttps://twitter.com/CNNPolitics/status/1439588188201308172\u00a0\u2026— Michael Creel (@Michael Creel) 1632064699
More than 1 in 500 Americans are dead from COVID-19 and Tate Reeves, Ron DeSantis, Greg Abbott and other GOP Governors are still on the side of the virus.https://twitter.com/CNNPolitics/status/1439588188201308172\u00a0\u2026— Richard Hine (@Richard Hine) 1632070091
Tate Reeves has zero shame. I do not understand digging your heels in like this. I\u2019ll never understand it.https://twitter.com/cnnpolitics/status/1439588188201308172\u00a0\u2026— Bishop Sycamore Alum, Morgan L. Stringer (@Bishop Sycamore Alum, Morgan L. Stringer) 1632072290
They commended the anchor for holding Reeves' feet to the fire.
okay go off mr tapperpic.twitter.com/NH4eBXBgpc— \u02da\u02d6\u207alaila (@\u02da\u02d6\u207alaila) 1632073911
Jake Tapper is the best TV news journalist.https://twitter.com/cnnpolitics/status/1439588188201308172\u00a0\u2026— On Consideration (@On Consideration) 1632094362
Mississippi remains one of the least-vaccinated states in the country.
