Trump Slams DeSantis, Claims ‘He Loved Dr. Fauci’
Former President Donald Trump was not on stage for Wednesday’s GOP presidential primary debate, but he did take the opportunity to savage some of his rivals during a concurrent interview with former Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson.
He offered an especially harsh critique of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a one-time ally who has been polling in a distant second place behind Trump in most early polls.
“DeSanctus is out,” Trump said, using a disparaging sobriquet for the governor. “I think he’s gonzo. He was at a level — people have figured him out. He’s gone.”
The following day, the former president appeared on Newsmax TV, where he once again targeted his nearest GOP rival thus far in the 2024 election. While some Republicans have criticized Trump for entrusting Dr. Anthony Fauci with much of his administration’s COVID-19 response, he turned the issue around on DeSantis.
“I will tell you that he loved Dr. Fauci,” Trump told host Greg Kelly. “And I’ll send you some articles tomorrow. He said, ‘Let’s not do any[thing] if we don’t have the approval of Dr. Fauci.’”
Trump attacked DeSantis’ “horrible scorecard,” adding that Florida “was third in the nation in deaths,” though it is also worth noting that Florida also has the third-highest population of all U.S. states.
“I’ll tell you, he loved Fauci, but he also locked down his state,” Trump continued. “His beaches were locked down. His roads were locked down.”
Accusing the governor of trying to rewrite history, he criticized DeSantis’ perceived infatuation with COVID-19 vaccines.
“He was a big believer in the vaccines,” Trump said. “This guy had lines for miles of people getting vaccines, now, he pretends [otherwise].”
Although Trump did defend Fauci and push for vaccine development in the early months of the pandemic, by the end of his term in the White House, he had largely changed his tune.
During a campaign event in October 2020, he called Fauci “a disaster” and claimed: “If I listened to him, we’d have 500,000 deaths.”
Trump also attacked “Fauci and all these idiots” for promoting harsh pandemic lockdowns and other mandates.
“People are saying, ‘Whatever. Just leave us alone.’ They’re tired of it,” he said at the time.
The continued competition between Trump and DeSantis has led to comments between the two as well as competition between the two candidates’ supporters online. This will most likely continue until the primary, and possibly beyond.
