DeSantis Lied About Dr. Fauci on TV

An article in The Daily Beast just gave me the information I need to document that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is a liar who lies for his perceived political benefit. Journalist Michael Daly, in an end-of-the-year piece, wrote about a Dec. 22 appearance on Fox News with host Dan Bongino.

Bongino asked DeSantis why other governors haven't copied his Monoclonal Antibody Treatment strategy. In August, thousands of more Floridians had died from a summer spike in Covid that DeSantis said he knew was coming. As those deaths increased, the governor started opening up state-run sites. The treatment had been available since last winter when the federal government stockpiled the life-saving drug. People who had not been vaccinated or vaccinated people who had suffered a "breakthrough" infection flocked to get free treatment from the state government in Florida.

But DeSantis, a Fox News celebrity, told Bongino that "people like Dr. Fauci" are to blame for the failure to spread the word about Covid treatment options. DeSantis, according to Daly, said, they have "really shied away from talking about any type of treatment of COVID-19 and they are constantly talking about vaccinations."

OMG, as young people say when texting. There is a great reason for constantly talking about vaccines. That reason: most people who suffer serious illness and death from Covid are unvaccinated. Does the governor care that more than 62,000 souls have died in his state on his watch? He could prove that he does by talking about vaccines regularly.

Of course, I'm glad DeSantis finally got off of his butt or took time off from campaigning for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination to give sick Floridians the treatment they deserve. But slick Ron, with his Yale and Harvard degrees, couldn't stop there. He played along with Bongino by acting as a treatment sage. And by blaming Dr. Fauci for something that is just not true.

I know it is not true because Christina Pushaw, the powerful communications expert who speaks for the governor, told me so. On Aug. 25, at 9:45 a.m., I sent her an email that contained a link to an article about Dr. Fauci. The headline said that DeSantis and Fauci agreed on Monoclonal Antibody Treatment. I sent her the link after she gave me an email interview on the life-saving treatment. A minute later, Pushaw replied, " Saw this. It's great news. The more people know about this treatment and trust it is real, the better."

I agree. Dr. Fauci agrees. Pushaw agrees. Too bad her boss is willing to lie to advance his political career.

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I will give Pushaw and the governor, who is caring for his cancer-stricken wife, all the space they need to reply.

And while the ambitious young governor continues with his state duties, he may want to read these links that show Dr. Fauci discussing lifesaving Covid treatment options:

Fauci says new pill 'impressive' at keeping COVID patients alive and out of hospitals (yahoo.com)

Fauci: US to spend $3.2B for antiviral pills for COVID-19 - OPB

FDA Authorizes Pfizer's Antiviral Covid Treatment Pills For Emergency Use (forbes.com)

New Covid Antiviral Pills Offer Hope as Omicron Looms - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

This article first ran at What's Going On, my free Substack newsletter. DeSantis Lied About Dr. Fauci on TV - by Steve Schneider (substack.com)