Governor Tate Reeves appeared on CNN’s ‘State of the Union’ with Jake Tapper on Sunday to talk COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, vaccine passports, and infrastructure funding proposed by the Biden Administration.
“I don’t support vaccine passports. I don’t think it’s necessary and I don’t think it’s a good thing to do in America,” Reeves told Tapper when asked about vaccine passports, adding that “at some point we have to let Americans make the decision that they think is best for them and their family.”
Tapper noted that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had issued an executive order banning private businesses requiring COVID-19 vaccine passports.
Governor Reeves did encourage everyone to get vaccinated, saying that the shot was safe and that getting vaccinated would help get life back to normal.
Tapper asked Reeves about having former President Donald Trump advocate for vaccinations to help ease the hesitancy from some. The Mississippi Governor said having Trump endorse vaccinations actively could be helpful but he added that educating people on the need was more important than an endorsement.
“We need to make sure that we educate our people and let them know that this vaccine is safe,” Reeves said. “I think the education piece is more important than the endorsement piece if you would.”
Tapper then asked Reeves about the Biden Administration’s rollout of their proposed infrastructure plan.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves says infrastructure is "something the federal government, the state government and local government should spend more of our resources on but we don't have to hike taxes by $2 trillion to do it" #CNNSOTU https://t.co/cPul2rjoL1 pic.twitter.com/i1NSryMKrR
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) April 4, 2021
Governor Reeves said infrastructure is “something the federal government, the state government and local government should spend more of our resources on but we don’t have to hike taxes by $2 trillion to do it.”
“There’s no doubt that Mississippi could use our fair share of $100 billion. The problem with this particular plan though, is although the Biden administration is calling it an infrastructure plan, it looks more like a $2 trillion tax hike plan to me,” Reeves told Tapper. “That’s going to lead to significant challenges in our economy, it’s going to lead to a slowing in GDP, and it’s going to lead to Americans losing significant numbers of jobs.”
Reeves said President Biden’s proposal looked more like the Green New Deal than an infrastructure plan. The plan subsidizes electric vehicles and pushed public transit.
“That is a political statement. It’s not a statement on trying to improve our infrastructure in America, so it looks more like the Green New Deal than it looks like an infrastructure plan,” Reeves added, “but if the Biden administration will do what the president has said he wants to do, which is work with Republicans, I believe we can come up with a plan that we can afford, one that we can pay for, and one that truly invests in the infrastructure needs of this country.”
Frank Corder
