CLAY: The battle over covid really has ended up being red state governors (thank the Lord) who have been standing up against the overreach of the Biden administration. And what that’s gonna end up looking like are the lawsuits that are being filed over who gets to make determinations for state residents. Are we going to allow state governors to allow individuals to make their own choices about whether or not they are going to be vaccinated, or are we going to allow the federal government to swoop in and say, “Unless you are vaccinated, you are not able to actually maintain your job”?

So we’ve got lawsuits being filed in Florida today by Ron DeSantis against the federal vaccine mandate. These involve, among other things, federal employees who might be working at NASA facilities in the state of Florida. This is going to take a long time to play out. We’ve got lawsuits also in the state of Texas over the battle that is being fought there whether — and again, this is significant, but I want to make sure everybody understands it.

The governors of Florida and Texas are not telling their citizens, “You can’t get vaccinated.” They are in no way forbidding any citizen from making the choice to vaccinate themselves or their children or their family. What they are saying is, “You can’t be fired for refusing to do so,” and this is particularly important as we move closer and closer to, I think, what is going to be a mandate for children to be vaccinated despite the fact that children have almost no risk whatsoever from covid.

If you think the mask battle was significant, it’s nothing compared to what we’re gonna have over the covid vaccine mandate for children. But I appreciate and applaud governors like Ron DeSantis of Florida for standing up in favor of your constitutional right to make a choice about whether or not you are going to be vaccinated.

Earlier this morning, Ron DeSantis announced his federal lawsuit against the federal government mandates and also discussed in a little bit more detail the path from “15 days to stop the spread” to “you better get this vaccine or you’re gonna lose your job.”

DESANTIS: Sometimes, you gotta just — in the moment — look back and think, “Okay, we’ve gone from ’15 days to slow the spread’ to ‘three jabs to keep your job’ somehow.” Are you kidding me? It does violate the Constitution. It’s gonna hurt the economy. But also, this is not the end of it, okay? I think we know.

They are always saying, “Oh, we just need to do this,” and then they go on to the next thing and the next thing and the next thing. And so, it’s important for us to take a stand, not only for what’s at stake here with the folks that could be affected, but also knowing that if you don’t give resistance to this, you’re gonna continue to see other things, and they’re gonna absolutely do more.

CLAY: It’s important. It’s an important detail, because anyone out there who has watched the slow, continued growth of federal government mandates as it pertains to the vaccine… Just think back if in March of 2020, you had been told that by the time you’re getting close to Halloween — and, by the way, I hope all of you are gonna have a phenomenal Halloween.

My wife throws a monster Halloween party every year, and we have got the backyard getting tented right now. We have got an awesome party that we are going to throw. We threw it last year, too. We had this conversation because last year covid was going on, it was getting close to the election, and my wife says, “Hey, do you think we should have the party?” I said, “Yeah! Let everybody make a choice about whether or not they want to come to a party.

“If they don’t want to come, if they don’t feel comfortable, that’s their right. But I know there are massive numbers of people out there that are desperate for normalcy,” and certainly, this fall feels pretty normal for most people, I think. But if you are out there right now and I had told you back in March of 2020, “By almost November of next year, you are still going to be dealing with covid and there are going to be mandates for a covid vaccine.

“Despite the fact that many of you will have already had it! Despite the fact that the data will clearly reflect that if you’re in your twenties, your thirties, or your forties, by and large, you have minimal — minimal, highly minimal — risk from covid,” that you would be potentially going to lose your job, that we would be firing police officers, that we would be firing all different sorts of people with important jobs — firemen, health care workers.

That all of these people would be losing their jobs over their decision as it pertains to the covid virus, despite that many of them would have had it! And, by the way, did you see the recent reports from Moderna and Pfizer saying, “Hey, this is going to be a yearly shot now”? I don’t even think we should call it the covid vaccine. We should call it the covid shot. It’s effectively going to be become like the flu shot.

You know what’s interesting about the flu shot is, to my knowledge, there’s almost no jobs out there that have ever mandated — as a condition of employment — that you have to get the flu shot or you’re gonna get fired. Certainly, that hasn’t been a case for any school district out there that I can remember where your kids were not able to go to school unless they got the flu shot.

Now, this is significant because the seasonal flu is more deadly to your average young kid than covid is — and look, there’s a different between the risk to a kindergartener and the risk to an 80-year-old. I think that is wildly important. But we need to start paying attention and listening to what so many people out there in the New York Fire Department, the EMS, and the New York Police Department are saying about these vaccine mandates.

Listen to this rally, which you’re probably not going to hear almost anywhere else in media. Listen to this outspoken opposition to the covid vaccine mandate.

PROTESTER: Today, we stand united on one cause — firefighters, fire officers, EMS, fire dispatchers, others, affinity groups of FDNY, sanitation, DSNY, NYDT, my brothers and sisters! We want common cause to stand for freedom to choose!

CROWD: (cheering) (air horn)

PROTESTER: The ability to choose is our God-given right, our free will, the right to choose for ourselves, our families, our loved ones. This is our bodies, not yours!

CROWD: (cheering and applause)

PROTESTER: We work tirelessly long hours without fear of falling, took care of the citizens of this City of New York. We answer countless, countless calls to keep this city safe. We are citizens of the United States of America, New Yorkers!

CROWD: (cheering) (air horn)

CLAY: Wow. We need to get her on the show ’cause I know a lot of you are riled up just hearing that speech on behalf of so many different people in New York City who are potentially going to lose their jobs over the mask mandate.