‘Pound Sand’: DeSantis Trolls Fauci’s COVID-19 Policies By Selling Flip-Flops

Conservative News DailyJanuary 27, 2022

Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis trolled Dr. Anthony Fauci with a pair of flip-flops in a new ad supporting DeSantis’s re-election campaign.

Wall Street Journal national political reporter John McCormick tweeted a video of the ad, which first aired on One America News early Monday morning. “Coming to a beach near you,” the ad begins. It then shows a number of black-and-white clips of Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the Chief Medical Advisor to the President, making seemingly contradictory statements about the policies he recommended to deal with the spread of COVID-19.

“People should not be walking around with masks,” Fauci says in one clip, before saying that “masks work” in another. In the next pair of clips, Fauci says that fully-vaccinated individuals do not need to wear masks, but then says that people should still wear masks even if they’re fully-vaccinated. The ad also shows Fauci talking on the issue of keeping children in school, arguing at one point that “you really [had] better be very careful before you bring the children back,” then later arguing that “the default position should be to try as best as possible to keep the children in school”; as well as on the issue of social distancing, saying in one clip early on in the pandemic that “there is no need to change anything that you’re doing on a day-by-day basis,” but then in another clip calling for “a dramatic diminution of the personal interaction that we see.”

“Dr Fauci, he flips, he flops,” the ad reads as the camera pans away from a TV screen, “but he can’t stop freedom in Florida.” The ad then flashes to a pair of red, DeSantis-branded flip-flops. The camera then zooms out and pans away, revealing a message in the sand that reads, “FAUCI CAN POUND SAND.” The ad then displays the flip-flops and a link to DeSantis’ campaign website where supporters can pre-order them.

Dr. Fauci is the central character in this new @GovRonDeSantis 60-second campaign ad that first aired at 0649 today on OAN. pic.twitter.com/9rt05E3Unx

— John McCormick (@McCormickJohn) January 25, 2022

The flip-flops themselves are red with blue straps and have “FREEDOM OVER FAUCI” printed on the outer straps. DeSantis’ campaign logo is printed on the heels, and the soles have “FAUCI CAN POUND SAND” cut into them, so that the message will be pressed into the sand as the wearer walks along the beach.

DeSantis has slammed Fauci on multiple occasions. During a recent interview, DeSantis took both Fauci and the Biden administration to task for their singular focus on masks and vaccines as treatments for COVID-19. “Most of these other governors and the people like Fauci and the federal leadership, they basically say, ‘Get a shot, wear a mask,’ and they never talk about treatment. And we’ve really embraced treatment because that’s just the reality of what we’re facing,” DeSantis told Fox News’ Mark Levin.

DeSantis’ campaign has also released merchandise slamming Democrat politicians for imposing lockdowns on their residents while taking trips to Florida themselves. The Daily Wire reported:

The top of the front of the shirt says, “Escape to Florida,” while the bottom of the shirt states, “The LOCKDOWN LIBS Tour.”

The back of the shirt lists the following:

Gretchen Whitmer, MI Gov …………… West Palm Beach, FLJim Kenney, Philadelphia Mayor …………… Ft. LauderdalePhil Murphy, NJ Gov …………… Orlando, FLDon Lemon, CNN Anchor …………… Palm Beach, FLAOC, U.S. Congress (NY-14) …………… Miami Beach, FLNed Lamont, CT Gov …………… South FloridaNBC’s New Years Special …………… Miami, FLEric Swalwell, U.S. Congress …………… Miami Beach, FL

The bottom of the back of the shirt states, “WE DON’T BLAME YOU… WE LIKE FREEDOM, TOO.”

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