DeSantis Says Fauci's 'Gaslighting' the Country

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) is once again touting the state's stance on COVID-19. With reports that a new COVID-19 variant could strike in the winter, the Florida Governor is responding to recent comments from Dr. Fauci. It's no secret that DeSantis is a sharp critic of Fauci, and as Fauci readies himself for retirement, DeSantis warns that Fauci is "gaslighting" the country.

Over the weekend, CNN's Jake Tapper interviewed Governor Jeb Bush (R), who commented that DeSantis would be a "formidable" 2024 presidential candidate. As well, Tapper and Bush discussed the effects that school closures have had on children.

"I have to say I'm surprised that there hasn't been a national conversation about the damage done to kids because of these school closures," argued Tapper. DeSantis, a longstanding critic of school closures, is further criticizing Fauci over recent comments that he did not have anything to do with school closures.

"We all know locking kids out of school and disrupting their education for over a year, as blue state politicians did, was a terrible decision," said DeSantis in a message to supporters, adding that "As if working hand-in-glove with the teachers’ union bosses to cause the worst learning loss in decades wasn’t enough, the lockdown liberals’ idol Fauci is now gaslighting the American people."

During a recent interview with ABC, Dr. Fauci discussed the effects of school closures, Dr. Fauci argued that people should refer to his previous statements during the pandemic, warning that "we gotta do everything we can to keep the schools open."

DeSantis affirms that this isn't the case.

"When you lock children out of school, there are going to be irreparable consequences – especially for our most vulnerable students. But power-hungry bureaucrats like Fauci weren’t worried about that. They thought nothing about sacrificing the future of our children for their political agenda," argued DeSantis, calling on voters to reject the "COVID theater."