In a campaign email this week from the Friends of Ron DeSantis political action committee, Gov. DeSantis called for the nation’s leading infectious disease doctor to be fired and investigated.
The email, signed by DeSantis, insinuated that National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci may have played a role in the origin of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’ve suspected for some time that Fauci and his bureaucratic brethren may have been involved in funding the Wuhan lab’s work to experiment on viruses in ways that made them more deadly to human beings,” said the campaign email, referring to the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China.
Wuhan is where COVID-19 originated, although NPR and other news outlets have reported most experts don’t think a lab leak is the likely cause of COVID-19, citing a World Health Organization (WHO) team’s investigation. The WHO team concluded the virus most likely jumped from animals to humans.
DeSantis goes on to say in the campaign email, “Fauci needs to be fired and an investigation into his role in funding the Wuhan lab must be launched immediately.”
A day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported more than 16,000 new COVID cases in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis slammed the agency's new masking guidance while speaking at a conservative conference in Utah.
On Tuesday, the CDC recommended that even vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors if they live in areas with high rates of virus transmission, which includes the vast majority of the country.
DeSantis told the American Legislative Exchange Council on Wednesday that Americans should live their lives free of government-imposed restrictions.
"They should not be consigned to live in a 'Faucian' dystopia in which we're governed by the whims of bureaucratic authorities who care little for our freedoms, little for our aspirations and little for our happiness," DeSantis said.
DeSantis joined fellow Republicans at the conference to denounce lockdowns, restrictions and other mandates.
“It is very important that we say unequivocally no to lockdowns, no to school closures, no to restrictions and no to mandates,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis also joked about the CDC guidelines while speaking before about 450 unmasked attendees in Salt Lake City, saying, “Did you not get the CDC’s memo? I don’t see you complying.”
Utah is not yet taking any steps to follow the CDC’s recommendations on masks, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
Florida recorded the highest daily number of new cases since January on Tuesday. And it was the seventh consecutive day in which Florida reported more than 12,000 new cases.
DeSantis’ latest comments follow his release of anti-Fauci merchandise for sale on his reelection campaign website with the catchphrase “Don’t Fauci My Florida.” The Friends of Ron DeSantis committee has raised $86,268,779.71 to date, according to the Florida Division of Elections.
Bill Bortzfield can be reached at bbortzfield@wjct.org or on Twitter at @BortzInJax.
