This week, politicians have joined the widening effort to grant unvaccinated world No. 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic an exemption from the Biden administration’s nonsensical COVID rules on international travelers. As Djokovic lobbies to play in the Miami Open, an important ATP event that begins later this month, Florida senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio wrote to Biden expressing their displeasure. And now it’s unofficial presidential aspirant Ron DeSantis’s turn.
In a lengthy letter to President Biden on Tuesday, the Florida governor gleefully used every opportunity to defend Djokovic, who hasn’t played in the U.S. since the ban on unvaccinated travelers went into effect, and to bash Biden in terms he clearly considers politically advantageous. Calling the president’s travel policy “unfair, unscientific, and unacceptable,” DeSantis charges that the Biden administration has different rules for undocumented immigrants entering the southern border. He then transitions into some of the quasi-anti-vaxx material he has honed over the past couple of years, dubiously declaring that “the COVID-19 vaccines are not as effective as initially advertised” anyway and — more dubious — that “the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine is now in question.” He also asks Biden whether Djokovic could enter the country via boat. Read the letter below:
