'Don't Fauci My Florida': DeSantis Team Sells Anti-Fauci Swag

FLORIDA — A fundraising political committee for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has added some new merchandise taking aim at Dr. Anthony Fauci — director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, an adviser on the White House Coronavirus Task Force, and chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden — to its online store.

Friends of Ron DeSantis are selling koozies and T-shirts that say “Don’t Fauci My Florida.” There are also shirts, hats and a flag that read “Keep Florida Free.”

There’s also a koozie proudly displaying a DeSantis quote on one side: “How the hell am I going to be able to drink a beer with a mask on?” On the other side is an image of the governor holding and clinking a beer with another drinker

The new DeSantis merchandise comes out at a time COVID-19 cases are significantly increasing in Florida as the delta variant, which is more contagious, becomes the variant strain in the United States. According to the New York Times, more than 6,400 new coronavirus cases were reported in Florida Wednesday.

According to the Friends of Ron DeSantis website, merchandise purchases are considered a political contribution and are not tax deductible as a charitable contribution.

Related: Delta Variant Spreads As Florida Ranks Average In Vaccinations

The incumbent governor is up for re-election in 2022. He’s also emerged as a potential presidential candidate in 2024. A recent Politico poll indicates that DeSantis is the Republican frontrunner if former President Donald Trump chooses not to run for president again.

There’s long been division between Florida’s Republican governor and Dr. Fauci, an early proponent of wearing face masks and social distancing to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

DeSantis has been a vocal critic of these preventative measures and other COVID-19 protocols.

“In Florida, we chose freedom over ‘Faucism’ and we’re much better off for doing that. I think his lockdown policies were not justified by the scientific data,” DeSantis said during an interview with Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle in June, Local 10 reported.

Last summer, Fauci spoke out about Florida reopening too early while the pandemic was still going on.

“Despite the guidelines and the recommendations to open up carefully and prudently, some states skipped over those and just opened up too quickly,” Fauci said on FiveThirtyEight’s weekly “PODCAST-19” according to NBC 6 South Florida.

He added, “Certainly Florida I know, you know, I think jumped over a couple of checkpoints.”

DeSantis defended his reopening of the state because the number of COVID-19 cases was low at the time and there was “no justification” not to reopen, WESH reported.

At the end of September, Fauci expressed concern again when Florida’s bars and restaurants reopened at full capacity, NBC News reported.