Montage: Media rips into DeSantis over ‘inhuman’ sending migrants to Martha’s Vineyard
Figures on CNN, MSNBC, ABC and CBS accused the Florida governor of ‘trafficking’ migrants as a ‘political stunt.’
Media outlets across the dial erupted in anger and disbelief at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis after he flew 50 migrants to the ritzy, liberal enclave of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.
DeSantis’ office revealed to Fox News Digital on Wednesday that the governor was responsible for sending two planes of illegal immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard in response to the Biden administration’s failure to secure the southern border.
Democrats across the board, including representatives from Martha’s Vineyard, condemned the governor, and accused him of using illegal immigrants as "political pawns."
Left-leaning figures on notable media networks quickly parroted the Democratic talking points, motivated to discuss issues around immigration after over a year of limited coverage.
Illegal immigrants arrive at Martha's Vineyard Airport from Florida on Wednesday. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday flew two planes of immigrants to Martha's Vineyard, escalating a tactic by Republican governors to draw attention to what they consider to be the Biden administration's failed border policies. (AP)
A Thursday ABC News report introduced the story by calling it a "stunt" that used human beings to "score political points," while "CBS Mornings" ushered in a segment on Martha’s Vineyard detailing how migrants ended up being "used for politics" in an "inhumane" way.
"The word inhumane was a good one to use in this particular case," CBS’ Gayle King said after the report was read. "People don’t know where they’re going, people that are there don’t know that you’re coming."
Similar language occurred across the media landscape.
"The View" lashed out at DeSantis, with co-host Whoopi Goldberg calling him a "bonehead" who had made a "nasty" move.
"There’s no excuse for tricking people, trapping people, traumatizing people who have come to the United States," CNN political commentator Van Jones said on "Erin Burnett OutFront."
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to supporters at a campaign stop on the Keep Florida Free Tour at the Horsepower Ranch in Geneva. DeSantis faces former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist for the general election for Florida Governor in November. (Photo by Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
"Human beings," Burnett chimed in.
"Human beings," Jones replied.
Meanwhile, CNN host Jake Tapper, noting DeSantis had likely made this move to appeal to the Republican base, blamed the same base for the lack of meaningful immigration legislation up until this point. He claimed that Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump had tried to pass immigration reform, or at least provide "lip service" on immigration, but were eventually worried how it would play to some conservatives.
"These stunts are being done to appeal to the Republican base, but the solutions right there, and it seems like the Republican base doesn’t understand that fear of them has kept the solution from happening," he said.
Some media figures even accused DeSantis of engaging in human trafficking by sending Texas-based migrants up to Massachusetts.
MSNBC "Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough called the transportation of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard "political human trafficking" and accused DeSantis of taking advantage of migrants for a stunt aimed at "owning the libs."
"Is there any conversation that’s being had through your reporting about whether this is a crime?" MSNBC host Joy Reid asked David Ovalle of the Miami Herald. "Because this has been called trafficking. There is a lot of chatter now that what these governors, including Ron DeSantis, have done is to have trafficked these, these families."
She went on to call DeSantis’ actions "cruel and sick and sadistic."
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke about sending migrants to Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. (WEAR via NNS)
During CNN's "New Day" Thursday, filmmaker Ken Burns joined the show to promote his new PBS documentary, titled "The U.S. and the Holocaust."
During the discussion, anchor John Berman attempted to tie the story about Martha’s Vineyard to Burns’ film, and prompted the documentary filmmaker by saying that all of his documentaries "make you think about where we are now. And we woke up to the news this morning that Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida sent two plane loads of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts."
Berman denied that he was making a "one-for-one" comparison, or a "parallel" between Nazi Germany and DeSantis, but claimed that "it does address some of the same themes that are part of this documentary."
"Well it’s the abstraction of human life. It’s basically saying that you can use a human life that is as valuable as yours or mine or Lynn’s, and to put it in a position of becoming a political pawn in somebody’s authoritarian game," Burns replied.
He added that DeSantis had "weaponized human beings for a political game," a move that he claimed was "straight out of the authoritarian playbook."
MEDIA ATTACK RON DESANTIS' 'CRUEL' AND 'XENOPHOBIC' MIGRANT FLIGHTS, CALL FOR INVESTIGATION
Illegal immigrants arrive at Martha's Vineyard Airport on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. (Video obtained by Fox News)
The historical comparisons continued over on MSNBC, where Rev. Al Sharpton urged people to raise questions about the "racial notations" involved in DeSantis’ decision.
He claimed Republican governors had "targeted" cities with Black mayors, including Washington D.C., New York City, and Chicago. Sharpton also compared the arrival of migrants in Martha’s Vineyard to the "segregationist strategy" of the 1960s.
"…During the fight around segregation, the segregationists bussed people to Massachusetts to say, you’re going to meet with John Kennedy, and they told the Blacks, you’re going to meet with president John Kennedy, and you’re going to get a discussion about the things that you’re concerned about," Sharpton said. "And it was a bogus trip. They got to Massachusetts. There was no John Kennedy, there was no discussion. And they’re using these migrants in the same way with the same false promises."
There have so far been more than two million migrant encounters this fiscal year alone, on top of more than 1.7 million encounters in fiscal 2021. The 50 migrants sent to Martha's Vineyard would be just 0.0025% of that number. While many of those are returned either via the Title 42 public health order or other methods by Border Patrol, a significant number are released into the U.S. to await their asylum hearings -- which can take up to eight years. It also does not include the hundreds of thousands that slipped past agents, known as "gotaways."
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"States like Massachusetts, New York and California will better facilitate the care of these individuals who they have invited into our country by incentivizing illegal immigration through their designation as ‘sanctuary states’ and support for the Biden administration’s open border policies," the Florida governor’s communications director, Taryn Fenske, told Fox News Digital.
The DeSantis campaign has made immigration a wedge issue with Democratic gubernatorial opponent Charlie Crist throughout the 2022 race as well.
Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report.