CNN's John Harwood fumes over DeSantis attack on Fauci: Proof of Republican Party's 'degradation'
Harwood ripped the GOP for 'demagogic attacks' on Fauci, the retiring NIAID director
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CNN White House correspondent John Harwood had a serious bone to pick with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis after his "little elf" comment of retiring National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Dr. Anthony Fauci took place Wednesday.
"No better example of the Republican Party's degradation than its demagogic attacks on a brilliant public servant who has spent decades working to fight ignorance and save lives with medical science," he wrote Thursday, responding to a tweet featuring a snippet from DeSantis' Orlando rally from the previous day.
During the rally, the possible 2024 Republican presidential candidate slighted Fauci by calling him a "little elf" and adding that "someone needs to…. chuck him across the Potomac."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"You have people like Fauci saying that his lockdowns didn't cause any permanent damage to any young kids. I've got news for you, it did," DeSantis said.
DESANTIS BLASTS ‘LITTLE ELF’ FAUCI: ‘CHUCK HIM ACROSS THE POTOMAC'
CNN White House correspondent John Harwood was flamed by critics for minimizing the effects of inflation on American families. (Getty Images)
He doubled down on claims that Fauci's school lockdown recommendations harmed children across the country, saying the crisis will continue for years.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I'm sick of seeing him," he added. "I know he says he's going to retire, but someone needs to grab that little elf and chuck him across the Potomac."
In the comments of Harwood's tweet, supporters of President Biden's chief medical adviser railed against DeSantis, saying his personal attack was taken straight from the "Trump playbook."
DESANTIS SAYS FLORIDA ‘CHOSE FREEDOM OVER FAUCI-ISM,’ URGES CONSERVATIVES TO HAVE A ‘BACKBONE’
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, shown here in January 2021, is proposing hiring an elections crimes staff larger than most police departments have to solve murders. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Others spun DeSantis' words in his own direction, calling him a "troll" instead of an elf, and many critics called the Florida governor a "fascist" for his controversial rhetoric.
Fauci announced Monday that he will step down as NIAID director in December after 38 years in the role and more than 50 years of government service to "pursue the next chapter" of his career.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It has been the honor of a lifetime to have led the NIAID, an extraordinary institution, for so many years and through so many scientific and public health challenges," Fauci said, adding, "I am very proud of our many accomplishments."
Fauci saw the U.S. through the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, various influenza the West Nile Virus, Ebola fears and, most notoriously, the COVID-19 pandemic.