On Wednesday’s Fox and Friends, Rubio weighed in on new promotional materials from DeSantis’ reelection effort, including “Don’t Fauci My Florida” beer koozies and t-shirts released as the delta variant of COVID-19 threatens the limits of Florida hospitals.
“You want to know what I think? I think it’s funny,” Rubio raved about the campaign props targeting Dr. Anthony Fauci, the controversial point man for the nation’s coronavirus response.
“I think it’s great. There’s this notion out there that Fauci is somehow beyond reproach. Fauci has openly and enthusiastically engaged himself in the political debate of this country. He has no problem going on every media outlet, wagging his finger at everybody, accusing anyone who doesn’t agree with him (of) being backwards and wanting to kill people,” Rubio said.
“He’s had no problem being a national celebrity and appearing on the cover of magazines,” the famously media-averse Rubio added. “That means he’s not immune to sarcasm. And he’s not immune to criticism.”
For Rubio, these lates comments continue a summer of criticism of Fauci. In June, the Senator urged President Joe Biden to fire the Director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, suggesting the doctor was “getting high on his own supply.”
“He’s gotten on the cover of magazines. He’s become this national figure. He enjoys this celebrity that’s come with it and this role he’s played, almost like a super-governmental role, this authority that everybody has to listen to. I think he’s gotten, you know, high on his own supply a little bit,” Rubio said on The Story with Martha MacCallum.
DeSantis, who also has been known to brag about his national platform, expressed his own concerns about Faucian overexposure early this summer. The Governor likened Fauci to Marie Antoinette after Fauci appeared on a digital cover of InStyle magazine.
“Obviously, he does so many interviews that it was pretty clear to me that after a short time that this was about himself and his own image,” DeSantis snarked on Fox News. “For me, you look at that magazine cover where he’s lounging by the pool with the sunglasses on, you know, right in the midst of a pandemic. It was almost like a let them eat cake moment for all the people who were chafing under his lockdowns, and yet he seemed to be having the time of his life.”
This article first appeared at Florida Politics.
Support local journalism in these crazy days. Our small but mighty team works tirelessly to bring you news on how coronavirus is affecting Tampa and surrounding areas. Please consider making a one time or monthly donation to help support our staff. Every little bit helps.
Subscribe to our newsletter and follow @cl_tampabay on Twitter.
This article appears in Jul 8-14, 2021.