Ron DeSantis Lashes Out at Donald Trump's Fauci Criticism

The war of words between former Republican allies turned bitter rivals in the presidential race ramped up on Thursday as Ron DeSantis called Donald Trump pathetic for criticizing Dr. Anthony Fauci.

DeSantis mocked the former president for claiming he didn't know who had awarded Fauci with a presidential commendation when it was Trump himself who had given the award to the former boss of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

DeSantis, as governor of Florida, was often vocal in his criticism of Fauci—who advocated masks and lockdowns as the U.S. battled to contain the emerging COVID-19 pandemic. DeSantis said that Trump was a hypocrite for trying to distance himself from Fauci now that the medic and ex-NIAID boss is said to be less popular with the public.

DeSantis and Trump both hope to win the presidency, but DeSantis is lagging behind Trump. Voters prefer the former president as a Republican 2024 candidate, despite him facing charges over his handling of official documents. Trump denies any wrongdoing.

During an interview on SiriusXM's The Megyn Kelly Show on Thursday, Trump was quizzed on why he awarded Fauci a presidential commendation. The former president told Kelly: "I don't know who gave him the commendation. I really don't know who gave him the commendation. Someone probably handed him a commendation." Trump added: "I overrode many of the things he did."

Former Trump staffers rubbished the claims that the former president had nothing to do with the commendation awarded to Fauci back in January 2021. Alyssa Farah Griffin, his former White House communications director, told CNN on Thursday: "A commendation of this nature would require presidential sign-off. They go through staff secretary for approval and then the president would need to approve."

DeSantis has wasted no time jumping on Trump's claims. During an interview with Jimmy Failla on FOX Across America after The Megyn Kelly Show had aired, the Florida governor said: "It literally says 'President Trump awards commendation.' Is this the immaculate commendation or something like that? Did this just happen out of thin air?"

And in a video clip shared on social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, by Ron Filipkowski, editor-in-chief of the anti-Trump MeidasTouch news network, DeSantis let rip.

"It's easy for Republicans to ding him [Fauci] now, because he's unpopular with the broader electorate," DeSantis said. "Back then, Donald Trump used to cite Fauci's poll numbers as a reason why Fauci was somebody that should be listened to[...] And [during] his campaign for reelection in October 2020, they were running videos where Fauci is bragging that, 'Donald Trump did everything I told him to do.' They were putting that out as a positive message for their candidate.

"And then of course he DID give Fauci a presidential commendation, his last day in office," DeSantis added. "Megyn asked him about it and he [distanced himself]. What was that? Was that the immaculate commendation that just happened to happen? It said, 'Donald Trump awards Fauci this commendation.' So I thought it was really pathetic to sit there and listen to that drivel. It is totally false."

X users commenting beneath the clip seemed as divided as Trump and DeSantis.

Some praised the Florida politician for laying into Trump, with one writing: "You finally got a spine."

Others posted that DeSantis was a hypocrite because he had taken the COVID-19 vaccine.

However, many more seemed equally disgusted with both politicians, with one commentator posting: "Can we look at the fact that these guys are arguing about who hates a respected Internal Medicine Physician more. Disgusting all of them!" Another added: "The pot calling the other pot a pot." And a third wrote: "No I hate Fauci! No, I hate Fauci! No, I hate Fauci more! Get a grip."

Newsweek has reached out to Trump via a form on his website, DeSantis via email, and Fauci via an email to NIAID, seeking comments from all three men.