Florida governor DeSantis downplays increase in COVID-19 cases after selling “Don’t Fauci My Florida” merch

By Max Greenwood
20 July 2021

ORLANDO, Florida (The Hill) – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Monday downplayed the recent spike in coronavirus cases in his state and criticized public health officials who continue to push unvaccinated Americans to get Covid-19 shots.

“It’s a seasonal virus and this is the seasonal pattern it follows in the Sun Belt states,” DeSantis told reporters at a press conference. He also said that he expects COVID-19 cases to decline next month.

DeSantis’s remarks came as new cases of COVID-19 are on the rise, driven by the spread of the more infectious Delta variant. Florida has emerged as the epicenter of the recent surge, with about one in five new cases nationwide coming from the Sunshine State.

Despite the spike in cases, DeSantis has leaned into the same laissez faire approach to the coronavirus pandemic that has earned him praise from conservatives over the past year. His handling of the outbreak has earned him rising-star status among many Republicans, while fueling speculation of a potential 2024 presidential bid.

His reelection campaign recently released a line of merchandise taking aim at Anthony Fauci, the federal government’s top infectious disease expert who has become the face of the national response to the pandemic.

On Monday, DeSantis blamed public health experts for spreading what he called “misinformation” and offering “bad advice” about the pandemic. He also suggested that the same experts were undermining their own vaccine initiatives by talking down to people who have yet to get one of the three approved COVID-19 vaccines. [more]

DeSantis downplays increase in COVID-19 cases

DeSantis sells ‘Don’t Fauci My Florida’ merch as new coronavirus cases near highest in nation

By Hannah Knowles
16 July 2021

(The Washington Post) – Fox News host Tucker Carlson suggested that he should be criminally investigated. Republican members of Congress introduced a “Fire Fauci Act” to remove his salary.

Now White House medical adviser Anthony S. Fauci — a polarizing figure in the U.S. response to the coronavirus — is also part of a rising GOP star’s political branding.

“Don’t Fauci My Florida,” read drink koozies and T-shirts that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s preliminary campaign team rolled out just as his state sees some of the highest coronavirus hospitalizations, new infections and deaths per capita in the country. It’s the latest example of Republicans running on their opposition to virus-fueled shutdowns and mask mandates. A pandemic hero to some and villain to others, Fauci has become a high-profile target.

While the merchandise is focused on Florida before the 2022 gubernatorial race there, DeSantis is seen as a potential front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024. A key part of his pitch: He resisted public health experts’ calls for stricter measures against the spread of the coronavirus, spurring criticism on the left and praise from the right for keeping his state’s schools and economy comparatively open. […]

I’ve become sort of, for some reason or another, a symbol of anything they don’t like related to anything contrary to them or outside of their own realm.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

The state is reporting daily cases close to four times the national average — 26 new infections per 100,000 residents, the second-highest number in the country. The state’s latest covid-19 death rate is almost double the national figure, and it ranks fourth for current hospitalizations. […]

With the new merchandise, DeSantis is trying to cash in on a growing conservative backlash toward Fauci, a longtime government scientist who has advised seven presidents and directs the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Throughout the pandemic, Fauci has drawn ire from the right for advocating restrictions and changing stances on whether the general public should wear masks. Fauci says he and other public health leaders flipped positions as they learned more about the effectiveness of face coverings and after initially fearing that the public would snap up masks needed for health workers.

Fauci has called criticisms from high-profile Republicans “bizarre.”

“I’ve become sort of, for some reason or another, a symbol of anything they don’t like” related to anything “contrary to them or outside of their own realm,” he said this spring. [more]

DeSantis sells ‘Don’t Fauci My Florida’ merch as new coronavirus cases near highest in nation