DeSantis accuses 'D.C.-N.Y. journalist class' of Jan. 6 'obsession'

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blasted the unrelenting coverage of last year’s Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol Building during a Thursday press conference about COVID-19 testing.

"There is an obsession with this among the D.C.-New York journalist class," DeSantis said to reporters. "I think it's because it allows them to spin a narrative that they want to spin."

"This is their Christmas: Jan. 6," he continued. "They are going to take this and milk this for anything they can to be able to smear anyone who ever supported Donald Trump."

DeSantis was a strong ally of the former president. Many, including Trump himself, credit his support as key to DeSantis's election as Florida governor in 2018.  

To support his argument, he compared the coverage of Jan. 6 to that of the 2017 congressional baseball practice shooting, where a man who supported Bernie Sanders shot several Congressmen, including then-House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA).

"That was like a one-day, two-day story," DeSantis said. "That was not something that the Capitol-based press wanted to talk about. Why? Because it totally undercut their preferred narratives."

When asked about his opinion of the Jan. 6 anniversary, he responded, "It's not something that I've been concerned about in my job here because, quite frankly, it's not something that most Floridians have been concerned about.”

“They’re concerned about their jobs, education, inflation, gas prices, all those things. I wish the Congress of the United States would be concerned about those pressing issues as well. Sadly, they’re not going to use this to be able to get more TV time and some of them who are probably the most loud, probably will end up vacationing in Florida at some point as well.”

DeSantis said it was important to "hold people accountable" for rioting, but pointed out no one has been charged for inciting an insurrection – a different, more serious charge.