In an interview with independent journalist Megyn Kelly last Friday, Mr. DeSantis said, referring to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “It wouldn’t be he would be the head of CDC.” “That would be a PhD or a doctorate.”
Mr. DeSantis continued, “I’m going to have probably a task force go there and hold people accountable for COVID, hold people accountable for what [has] happened. “I’d want to gather a bipartisan group of people who understand the issue and that the federal government’s COVID response was a disaster more in that capacity,” the speaker said.
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Days earlier, the Florida governor made the suggestion that he would appoint Mr. Kennedy, a Harvard-educated attorney who has long opposed childhood vaccines and the COVID-19 vaccine, to look into the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Food and Drug Administration. He did not, however, allow Mr. Kennedy to serve as vice president in his administration.
In an interview with host Clay Travis, Mr. DeSantis said, “If you’re president, sic him on the FDA if he’d be willing to serve.” He was referring to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. He added, “Or put him on the CDC.” But if he is opposed to our base on 70% of the issues, you know, that just creates a problem in terms of being [vice president].
Mr. Kennedy has not responded despite trailing President Joe Biden in the polls by 40 to 50 percentage points.
Former Vice President Mike Pence and other GOP presidential hopefuls criticized Mr. DeSantis on Twitter. When elected president, Mr. Pence promised to only consider Pro-Life Americans for positions at the FDA, CDC, or [the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services]. To be clear, Democrats who support abortion, like RFK Jr., would not be on the list.
The Florida governor also mentioned in his interview with Mrs. Kelly that he would nominate people like Stanford University professor Jay Bhattacharya, who was a notable early opponent of lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic, to lead a medical agency. Mr. Bhattacharya participated in a Mr. DeSantis roundtable in 2012 about Big Tech censorship that specifically targeted opponents of vaccine mandates and lockdowns.
According to the most recent RealClearPolitics survey of Democratic primary voters, Mr. Kennedy is currently in second place to Mr. Biden with 14.3 percent to the president’s 66 percent. According to the website, among Republican primary voters, Mr. DeSantis only has 18% support while President Donald Trump has 52%.
Mr. Kennedy defended his chances of winning a few days ago. He declared, “I’m up against a very, very powerful force—the Democratic Party.” But I also believe that I have a lot of avenues for success.
In response to rumors of spending issues, Mr. DeSantis’ campaign reorganized and let go a sizable portion of its staff last week. The Florida Republican explained in his interview with Mr. Travis how the campaign will adjust and would prioritize his ground game in some early voting states.
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According to Mr. DeSantis, “We had a campaign for a nationwide election, which will eventually happen, but that’s not how the primaries are, so we’re shifting resources to the early states.”
Mr. Travis also questioned him about his willingness to run as Mr. Trump’s vice president during the interview. He responded, “I’m running for president to defeat Biden. “I don’t think I’d be very good at doing number two; it just doesn’t appeal to me. I believe that my value comes from doing other things.
He continued, “I’m only running because I want to win; there is no other reason. We will therefore either do it or not.