Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo promised Wednesday on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" that the Sunshine State's officials are "not going to be senseless" in their approach to the state's continued response to COVID-19.

"We're going to be making data-based decisions about public health in Florida," he said. "We're not going to be senseless, which characterizes what this past year and a half have been."

DESANTIS: WE ARE ACTIVELY RECRUITING OUT-OF-STATE POLICE OFFICERS OUT OF JOB DUE TO VACCINE MANDATES

Ladapo said the data do not support "this obsession with masking kids in school," calling the evidence in favor of school mask mandates "very weak." He said there's "really no evidence of a health benefit" to masked children, nor any "solid evidence" supporting cloth masks.

"Where benefit has been shown, it's primarily been with surgical masks," he said. "But…Americans have unfortunately been just slammed constantly with this message that you must mask these children. But…we haven't asked enough about the high-quality data, and…it doesn't support it. And we don't do it in Florida."

Newly appointed state Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo speaks during a press conference at Neo City Academy in Kissimmee, Florida. A day after being appointed, Ladapo instituted his first rule giving parents "sole discretion" over whether their child wears a mask at school, and also allowing students who come in contact with the coronavirus to continue attending class if they remain asymptomatic. (Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

FILE PHOTO: A child wears a face mask on the first day of New York City schools, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Brooklyn, New York, U.S. September 13, 2021. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo ( )

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. ( )

Carlson began the interview by asking Ladapo why he is "hated and is being attacked from every side all of a sudden." The physician replied that he's "not sure" why he is being attacked, saying "we could ask the people who are attacking me."

The Washington Post said Ladapo has a "controversial history that included not just opposing vaccine mandates, but downplaying the importance of vaccines." Politico pointed to Democrat politicians' belief that his hiring was "purely political." NBC News accused the Harvard-educated surgeon general of "invok[ing]…unsubstantiated conspiracy theories to argue against the vaccines."

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Ladapo noted Florida's "tremendous amount of success already" under Gov. Ron DeSantis and vowed that "nothing anyone says is going to change the approach that we take to public health."

The state now has the fewest daily COVID cases per capita, according to Yahoo News.

Florida surgeon general, attacked by Left, promises state won't be 'senseless' in COVID response

Dr. Joseph Ladapo vowed not to be deterred by the left's criticism