Gov. Ricketts Slams Biden, Harris for Skipping Governors’ Call

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Governor Pete Ricketts (NE) joined Fox & Friends this morning to discuss the lack of communication from the Biden administration as President Biden and Vice President Harris once again skipped the weekly COVID call with the nation’s governors.

To make matters worse, the governor who mismanaged COVID response in his own state is leading the discussion on best practices… If Andrew Cuomo is the best substitute for Vice President Harris, then we’ve got a long road of recovery ahead.

Watch the full interview here.

Steve Doocy: “Great to have you. So, I think Vice President Kamala Harris has been on the phone call once during the administration. Joe Biden never has been. When the call was being made, the COVID call, during the Trump Administration, how often was Mike Pence or the President on the line?”

Governor Ricketts: “So, you in the last administration, there were 40 weekly calls about the pandemic, Mike Pence chaired 39 of those, which means he was on the entire time answering questions from governors, fielding those questions. Sometimes these would last a couple of hours long and President Trump joined us for 8 of those phone calls which is in stark contrast to this administration where the calls last about 45 minutes, and Vice President Harris has been on once for about 5 minutes. She didn’t take any questions.”

Steve Doocy: “Right.”

Governor Ricketts: “It really shows the difference in approach of the White House right now in how they really don’t appreciate the work the governors are doing right now in the states where we are on the frontline. And really shows a lack of leadership on the part of the White House.”

Steve Doocy: “I know you feel that this is not the bipartisan approach to the COVID call that the Administration, the incoming Administration had promised you. But, ultimately, are you getting the same kind of information in this call which I believe is being kicked off every week by the President of the National Governor’s Association, Governor Andrew Cuomo?”

Governor Ricketts: “Yeah, Governor Cuomo kicks it off and we hear from the White House staff and we certainly appreciate the fact that they’re continuing to do the phone calls. We appreciate the White House staff that are giving us updates. There is a big difference between giving the updates from the Administration and having the top people on the phone who can cut through the red tape and bureaucracy to hear directly what’s going on in the different parts of the country.”