Florida Rep. Byron Donalds declined to urge parents to vaccinate their children against measles during a Face the Nation interview. Asked whether Florida parents should vaccinate their children, Donalds instead blamed recent outbreaks on illegal immigration under the Biden administration. The exchange followed a warning that nearly all of Florida remains below the 95% immunization rate associated with measles herd immunity.
A video of the exchange circulated on X. Margaret Brennan asked whether Donalds’ message to Florida parents was to vaccinate their children against measles.
“No, actually,” Donalds replied, before blaming outbreaks on “rampant illegal immigration.” Brennan then asked what evidence supported his claim.
Donalds pointed to outbreaks in El Paso, Texas, Southwest Florida and other parts of the country. He said people had entered illegally without receiving vaccines against measles, mumps and rubella.
Brennan pressed him again, asking, “So you want them to be vaccinated?”
Donalds responded that controlling immigration should come first. “You got to control immigration into your country,” he said.
He argued that more than 10 million people entered without vaccination schedules. “That’s how you end up having some of these outbreaks,” Donalds added.
He then shifted to healthcare costs, calling them the “real issue” for Americans and Floridians. Donalds blamed the Affordable Care Act’s regulatory framework for driving up costs.
He said healthcare costs were what he wanted to focus on as Florida’s next governor.
Donalds never directly said whether Florida parents should vaccinate their children during the exchange. Brennan ended the discussion by saying, “Okay, so you want vaccinated immigrants.”
Byron Donalds Faces Criticism Over Measles Vaccine Response
The unanswered vaccination question became a central focus of the online response to Donalds’ appearance.
“He was asked whether parents should vaccinate their children. He couldn’t say yes,” one user wrote.
Another focused on Donalds’ immigration argument, writing, “the mental gymnastics is genuinely impressive. measles doesnt check your immigration status but it does check your vaccination record.”
A separate response questioned the timeline behind his claim: “How does this lie work? Under Biden you had a immigration problem but no measles outbreak but Trump fixes immigration problem and now we have a measles outbreak…and somehow this is Biden fault?”
Another returned to Brennan’s question, writing, “He still wouldn’t say yes to vaccinating kids.”
Other reactions supported Donalds’ appearance. One response stated, “BOOM !!!! That’s telling FAKE NEWS the facts.”
Another added, “That’s how it’s done ! Nice work @RepDonaldsPress.”
Donalds left the interview without directly stating whether he believes Florida parents should vaccinate their children against measles.
