Live from Music Row, Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed national political correspondent for One America News, Neil W. McCabe, to the newsmaker line to discuss Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ press conference etiquette and his emergency preparedness.
Leahy: On the newsmaker line, our very good friend, the best journalist in Florida, Neil W. McCabe, the “Top Gov” tracker. He works for One America News Network. Good morning, Neil.
McCabe: Good morning, Michael. Good to be with you, sir.
Leahy: Are you safe down there as Hurricane Ian is headed your way?
McCabe: Yes. It looked like Ian was going to hit us here in the panhandle in Tallahassee, but then it broke east and is now headed for anywhere between Fort Myers and Tampa. So we’re okay here in Tallahassee, but there are gusts of about 20 to 30 miles an hour.
Leahy: We are five weeks and five days until the midterm elections, November 8. Of course, Ron DeSantis, the incumbent Republican governor, running against Charlie Crist. Is Charlie Crist making any headway against DeSantis in that race?
McCabe: No. In fact, Charlie Crist turned down the opportunity to trash DeSantis’s handling of the hurricane, basically making the decision to keep hurricane response apolitical.
There was kind of a kerfuffle yesterday when it turned out that the president had not called or spoken to DeSantis. I asked DeSantis how he would characterize his conversations with the president last night at a press conference, and DeSantis confirmed that he had not spoken to the president.
And I thought I had a really cool clip that I could use in my hits today. But then the president called a press conference and DeSantis and the White House tweeted out that the president is talking to DeSantis. And so we’re just swing-and-a-miss, Mike.
Leahy: Was this the first time that you actually had an opportunity to pose a question to Governor DeSantis?
McCabe: Yes. I interviewed him when I was at One America News covering Capitol Hill in another lifetime, but this is my first time speaking to the man himself. And then after the press conference, I was out on the sidewalk and he walked in and was walking towards his SUV, and he gave me a little nod, and I gave him a little nod, too. So I think we have a bit of a bond.
Leahy: So you’re in the club there now. (Chuckles)
McCabe: When men nod to each other, it means something. (Leahy laughs)
Leahy: What’s a press conference like at the Capitol? Give us the setting of that press conference? How long did it last and how many journalists were there?
McCabe: These things run anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes. It’s held at the Florida Division of Emergency Preparedness. So it’s a very small room, really crowded. There are probably 10 to 12 reporters with a mix of, say, print and TV.
Right after I asked my question about whether the president had spoken to DeSantis, another reporter said, hey, the FEMA director seemed to criticize Florida’s response.
And DeSantis really, like, snapped at them. And so I got to see that, one of those, hey, buddy moments with DeSantis and left-wing reporters. It was good. (Leahy laughs)
Leahy: I have it from very good sources that the Biden White House heard about your question and they said, oh, my goodness, McCabe has asked the question.
We’ve got to get in front of this right now. (McCabe chuckles) And that’s when he called DeSantis. I have that from very good sources, by the way.
McCabe: I got a question into the general, the commander of the Florida National Guard yesterday, asking about the effect of the COVID-19 mandate on his force. Florida has about 1,000 of its 12,000 personnel unvaccinated.
He kind of told me, like, hey, we’re ready to go and the unvaccinated guys are going to be mobilized on state orders because DeSantis stood up state militia like a lot of states that even Florida has.
I assume Tennessee also has that. But it was good to sort of get my licks, and a few people printed that out. The governor’s team was rather pleased that I asked the question.
Leahy: Well, of course they were.
McCabe: Who knows?
Leahy: Because they’ve got a bunch of left-wing sharks in there that are trying to find something to go after. Now, did you see the story by a friend, Hannah Bleau, at Breitbart?
It’s one of their lead stories that apparently just recently, President Biden said getting vaccinations was a key element of hurricane preparation. Did you see that one?
McCabe: (Laughs) I did not. I’ve been following this hurricane thing a little closely, especially since it looked like it might hit me directly. But that hasn’t come up yet. (Leahy laughs)
I can imagine – Florida is a pretty free state – I can imagine in other states, like in New York, you weren’t allowed to take classes online unless you were vaccinated. So would they let you in the shelter? The Make A Wish foundation wasn’t allowing unvaccinated children.
Leahy: Exactly. Last question for you, because I know you’ve got to go to something else. It looks to me right now that Governor DeSantis is on track to handle this hurricane incident. Is that what it looks like to you?
McCabe: Yes, he’s got this thing completely locked down. And you’re really seeing the naval officer, Ron DeSantis, sort of taking charge of this thing. And it’s impressive to see a state that spins like a top.
Leahy: There you go.
Listen to today’s show highlights, including this interview:
– – –
Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
Background Photo “Ron DeSantis” by Ron DeSantis.Â
