DOUBLE TAKEDOWN: Florida’s Surgeon General Just Left Cuomo and Tapper in Smoking Ruins Over Vax Mandates
Ladapo torched Big Pharma talking points and turned the moment into a masterclass on medical freedom.
Florida’s Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo just went head-to-head with Chris Cuomo and Jake Tapper after announcing Florida will END all VAX mandates.
They came loaded with BIG PHARMA talking points.
Ladapo BURNED them at the stake. And his final knockout left Tapper with NOTHING to say.
He turned the moment into a masterclass on medical freedom.
Happy warrior.
Last Wednesday, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo made headlines after announcing that the state plans to eliminate all vaccine mandates.
The reaction was instant and explosive.
Big Pharma's media allies swarmed, attacking the plan and vilifying Ladapo.
But instead of backing down, Ladapo went on offense.
Over the weekend, he appeared on national television...first with Chris Cuomo on NewsNation, then with Jake Tapper on CNN.
He didn’t dodge. He defended every word, face to face.
Cuomo came out swinging.
Right from the top, he tried bait Ladapo into attacking President Trump.
“So, Doc, you're not a politician, but let me hit you with the main optic of resistance to your policy recommendation, which would be the president of the United States, who said as gently as he could — ‘Be careful. Be careful about saying that certain people don't have to take vaccines. They work. They work well, they make a difference.’"
“He does not seem in favor of what you're discussing. What's your reaction?”
But Ladapo didn’t fall for it. He’s too shrewd for Cuomo’s games.
“I didn't know that’s the first time I heard that the president said that,” he replied.
“But, you know, I’m not trying to make any recommendations for President Trump. I’m simply, as I’ve been doing since my tenure here and years before then, just saying what I believe is right. So that's what I have to say.”
He stuck to his message. This wasn’t about Trump, this was about the bigger picture. It was about principles.
That’s when Cuomo turned up the pressure, claiming Ladapo was an outlier in the medical world—out of step with his own community.
“It does seem that the weight of your community is at odds with you, that not all vaccines are the same, and that a reason we have had advances or reductions, if you want to look at it conversely, that illnesses have disappeared in our society is in part because of vaccination.”
“And if people don't have to take them, then they won't take them, and then we won't be as healthy a society. Your response?”
Ladapo stood his ground and reframed the entire debate.
He calmly explained to Cuomo that this decision is not about the science...it’s about rights of the parents vs. the government.
“I would say that the reason that I made the statement—if you listen to the speech, I didn't say anything about any vaccines being effective or ineffective because it's not about that.”
“During this job, I mostly had scientific discussions, but this one is actually more political because it is a philosophical discussion.”
“The philosophical debate is about whether parents’ rights should prevail when it comes to the health of their children, or the government’s rights—should prevail.”
He said there’s no question in his mind which side is correct.
“I personally have ZERO doubt that the correct position, particularly for society that values freedom and wants to preserve freedom, is that parents MUST prevail.”
Ladapo is thinking much bigger than just the science.
Then came the mic-drop moment, which Cuomo didn’t even see coming.
Cuomo tried accusing Ladapo of “demonizing” the government by handing back control over a child’s medical decision to the parents, rather than the state.
But Ladapo turned the tables so effectively, in fact, that Cuomo accidentally made the very argument Ladapo had been making all along.
Cuomo said:
“Doc, you know, you don’t get to infringe on my rights by exercising your own. And it seems like here you’re making it ok by demonizing the state. You know, the less the ‘state’ has control over us, the better.”
Lapado was about to use Cuomo’s own words to hang his entire narrative.
He responded with laser focus. He knew he had Cuomo dead to rights.
“It’s interesting what you just said, Mr. Cuomo, because you just talked about one party imposing on the rights of the other party.”
“And, you know, if you listen to what you’re saying, you’re basically saying that this is a situation where the government gets to impose on the individual’s rights and preferences.”
He continued, calmly but firmly.
“I personally believe that that’s wrong, that the more freedom that we give people, particularly over their bodies—if you don’t have control over that in terms of what you put in your body, I mean, what’s the whole point?”
“Literally your words are supporting the actual thing that you’re saying you’re against.”
By the time Cuomo realized what just happened, it was too late. He had been flattened by the Surgeon General.
Less than 48 hours later, Ladapo was back on national TV…this time on CNN with Jake Tapper.
Right away, you could tell Tapper came loaded with talking points.
He had a narrative that he was sticking to, and he was willing to go down with the ship. Lapado would eventually sink that ship and its captain.
Tapper thought he’d catch Florida’s top doc off guard, but he was in for a long morning.