DeSantis: Fauci Wants 'to Take Away Your Freedoms'

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R), who’s been a vocal critic of both the Biden administration and Dr. Anthony Fauci, is now warning that “Fauci has emerged to take away your freedoms.” The Governor has been called an “authoritarian bully” while maintaining that Democrats want to take “absolute control” over voters, and this week DeSantis accused Fauci of propagating “COVID fearmongering” to institute masking on airplanes.

The mask mandate on airplane travel was set to expire on April 18, but the CDC quickly made an announcement, extending it to May 3^rd. However, US District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, a federal judge in Florida, overturned the mask mandate, calling it “unlawful.” This put a pause on the mandate, which was celebrated by Republicans and criticized by Democrats.

DeSantis praised the decision, calling the mandate “unscientific,” and now he’s accusing Fauci and the Biden administration of “attempting to fight the judge’s decision and reimpose forced masking on planes.”

Attributing it to “COVID theater,” the Governor argued that “Fauci and the Biden administration are trying to impose these authoritarian mandates to prolong the misery and suffering they have caused,” adding that “they want to exercise unchecked power over the people they govern.”

However, the Governor once again affirmed that he plans on opposing the measure and that voters’ “freedoms will always be protected.”

“There’s a reason why we’re known as the Free State of Florida,” he expressed, saying that he has “ensured kids were in school five days a week, ensured businesses could operate freely, and ensured you could go to church.”

Kimball Mizelle was appointed by President Donald Trump (R), and in her ruling over the issue, she argued that the mandate "exceeds the CDC's statutory authority and violates the procedures required for agency rulemaking." Videos were subsequently shared on social media, showing flight attendants announcing the mandate was no longer in affect, resulting in passengers cheering.