The DeSantis campaign responded this week to the White House, which accused the Florida governor, in part, of escalating rhetoric by calling Dr. Anthony Fauci a “little elf,” even as President Biden himself is describing MAGA Republicans as “semi-fascists.”
“You have people like Fauci saying that his lockdowns didn’t cause any permanent damage to any young kids. I got news for you. It did, and we are going to reap those rewards across the whole country for years and years and years because they treated kids so poorly,” DeSantis said during a fiery speech in Florida’s Seminole County.
“And I’m just sick of seeing him. I know he says he’s going to retire. Someone needs to grab that little elf and chuck him across the Potomac,” the governor said in light of Fauci’s claim that lockdowns did not “irreparably damage” anyone:
"I'm so sick of seeing him."
During a rally in Orlando earlier today, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis slammed Dr. Anthony Fauci, saying "someone needs to grab that little elf and chuck him across the Potomac."
DeSantis is holding another rally now in Tampa: https://t.co/uUgH7kswQn pic.twitter.com/DNeFql9Gkv
— WFLA NEWS (@WFLA) August 24, 2022
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre does not believe the criticisms of the president, who ran as a uniter, yet recently called Make America Great Again (MAGA) Republicans “semi-fascist,” are valid. She blames Republicans for escalations in rhetoric, instead.
“You have Representative Paul Gosar has posted videos depicting him attacking the President and members of Congress,” she claimed. “You have Representative Majority [sic] Tay- — Marjorie Taylor Greene has publicly expressed support for shooting prominent Democratic elected officials and suggesting physically assaulting transgender school officials.”
“You have Representative Madison Cawthorn has said, falsely, ‘If our election systems continue to be rigged and continue to be stolen, then it’s going to lead to one place, and that’s bloodshed,'” she continued before pointing to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).
“And just last week, you had Governor Ron DeSantis suggested that Dr. Fauci should be physically assaulted. And former President Trump has done the same many, many times,” she added.
Jean-Pierre failed to provide any context to her examples as DeSantis specifically blasted the “little elf” for the permanent damage caused by lockdowns — something Fauci now dismisses.
“Joe Biden and Anthony Fauci needlessly locked people in their homes and out of their jobs, kept kids away from school, and sent tens of thousands of seniors to their deaths –– those are the physical assaults they ought to be talking about from the podium,” Dave Abrams, a DeSantis campaign spokesperson, said in response to the press secretary.
Indeed, President Biden made waves last week after stating that the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement is “semi-fascism.”
US President Donald Trump arrives to hold a Make America Great Again rally as he campaigns at Erie International Airport in Erie, Pennsylvania, October 20, 2020. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
“It’s not just Trump; it’s the entire philosophy that underpins the — I’m going to say something — it’s like semi-fascism,” Biden said during a fundraiser for Democrats in Montgomery County, Maryland.
“What we’re seeing now is either the beginning or the death knell of an extreme MAGA philosophy,” Biden said.
Notably, DeSantis’s challenger, Democrat Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL), defended Biden after his description of some Republicans as “semi-fascist.”
“Listen, he’s got to express and be honest about what he feels in his heart and his soul,” he said during an appearance on CNN’s Newsroom. “And I think that’s probably exactly what he did. Now, to your question, do I want him to come campaign for me? Absolutely.”
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