Fresh off a week of negative headlines regarding Ron DeSantis’ decision to fly 50 illegal immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard, members of the legacy media are now criticizing the governor for not choosing to relocate another group of migrants.
Last week, national and state media lambasted the governor, calling the act “cruel,” “dehumanizing” and “human trafficking.” Headlines from the Miami Herald included the quotes “Sadistic Lie” and “A New Low.” One editorial headline read “With shameful Martha’s Vineyard stunt, DeSantis dishes out cruelty with a smirk.”
THE FLIGHT THAT NEVER HAPPENED
Reports indicated Florida’s relocation program for illegal immigrants would be sending a group of Venezuelans from San Antonio to a town near President Biden’s home in Delaware on Tuesday. But the group never arrived.
The Herald’s moral indignation recurred on Wednesday, only this time for the opposite reason. The paper published a feature profiling the reportedly Delaware-bound migrants, detailing their impoverished circumstances and uncertain future.
Mary Ellen Klas, the Herald’s D.C. bureau chief, wrote “They weren't ‘punked;’ they were real. And now migrants promised by @GovRonDeSantis' operative they would be flown to Delaware are stranded” in her tweet sharing the feature.
“EVERYONE GOT PUNKED”
Klas’ tweet referenced a quote from an unnamed source from an NBC News article about the reporters who waited outside the small airport in Georgetown for a flight that didn’t deliver what they expected.
“He didn’t tell anyone and purposely left people in the dark. So technically the media, the Democrats, everyone got punked who decided to heed some s--- on Twitter instead of waiting for confirmation from the governor’s office," the source said. "The entire point of this is to put a spotlight on the border. It’s what the governor has said.”
TWITTER REACTION
YouTuber Ian Miles Cheong shared his take on the media coverage, tweeting, “It's ‘human trafficking’ when DeSantis flies them to Delaware. It's a travesty when he does not.”
“Human trafficking? Now good,” quipped Stephen L. Miller in response to the article on Twitter.
New York resident Matt Blades, who thinks the negative coverage of the Martha’s Vineyard flight caused the governor to change his mind, responded: “Sure feels like the blowback from the MV flight was all that kept DeSantis from following through on his disgustingly callous stunt,” Blades wrote in a tweet.
NBC reporter Marc Caputo, who co-authored Tuesday’s “punked” article, did his best to stay in the middle of the polarizing story.
“Confirmed by @Blaskey_S & @NickNehamas: Florida planned a new migrant flight to DE but canceled it yesterday. But DeSantis & his admin refused to confirm or deny it as part of an effort to “punk” critics,” Caputo tweeted. “Irony: the migrants seemed to want to go.”
