DeSantis Would Have ‘Fired’ Fauci, ‘Kind of’ Likes Trump’s ‘DeSanctimonious’ Nickname

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said that if he was president during the COVID-19 pandemic, he would have “fired” former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, in an interview with Piers Morgan on Fox Nation set to air on March 23. DeSantis, considered to be the top challenger to former President Donald Trump’s bid for a third consecutive Republican nomination, said that his approach to COVID-19 was different from Trump’s.

DeSantis criticized Fauci for getting “way too big for his britches” and said that he had done a lot of damage. Fauci has been DeSantis’ most frequent target during his book tour appearances. DeSantis has demanded accountability from Fauci for school lockdowns, business closures, and mask mandates.

While DeSantis has been touring the country recently, he has denied that he is running for president, despite his visits to early primary states. He said that he would be focusing on President Joe Biden and Democrat policies if he were to run for president, rather than targeting other Republican rivals.

DeSantis believes that he can win with independents and says that he was able to convince some Florida Democrats to vote for him in his first term as governor in 2018. He tells Morgan that he thinks he can appeal to people across the political spectrum.

DeSantis has been circumspect in his comments about the scandals surrounding the former President Trump. Trump has been targeting DeSantis with the nickname “DeSanctimonious” for several months, but DeSantis said that he kind of likes it and that it has a lot of vowels.