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COVID-19 is back in the news, a trend that could have a political impact on the Republican primary.
In particular, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (right) sees this factor as a weapon in his attempt to regain lost ground to former President Trump.
COVID-related hospitalizations have been surging at a rate in the U. S. He was in the U. S. for about six weeks.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were about 19,000 COVID-related hospitalizations in the last week for which data is available, through Sept. 2.
The latest numbers nearly triple from the roughly 6,500 COVID-related hospitalizations in the week ending July 8.
That increase, in turn, prompted the CDC on Tuesday to propose that virtually all babies younger than 6 months receive an updated vaccine. These injections are intended to mitigate the severe consequences of the latest subvariant of the ommicron strain of COVID-19. .
There is no recommended mandate for revaccination. And COVID-related hospitalizations, despite their recent increase, are only a small fraction of their level at the height of the pandemic.
Despite this, the COVID factor has more prominence in the political sphere than in a long time.
On Wednesday, DeSantis strongly opposed the CDC’s recommendations, urging those under 65 not to get vaccinated.
DeSantis said he would not allow public fitness agencies to “use fit Floridians as guinea pigs for new booster shots that have not been shown to be effective. “
DeSantis also claimed that his state would be “the first state in the country to stand up and offer recommendations on the truth, not Washington’s executive orders. “
The Food and Drug Administration said Monday it had “confidence in the protection and efficacy of the updated vaccines. “
DeSantis’ comments reflect his longtime skepticism about federal policies on COVID-19, but they are also part of an attempt to exploit a vulnerability in Trump’s political armor.
Trump leads DeSantis on about 40 issues in the existing weighted national average of polls conducted using FiveThirtyEight data. That’s a far bigger gap than Trump enjoyed earlier this year, before DeSantis launched his campaign.
But Trump came under pressure this week over an interview with Megyn Kelly, whose show airs on SiriusXM.
Kelly doubted Trump’s reasons for not firing Dr. Anthony Fauci from his post as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases while in office, as many on the right wanted. He added: “You made him a star. . . That’s his complaint that has made him the face of the White House coronavirus task force. “
“Do you think?” Trump responded.
Kelly went on to note that Fauci won a presidential accolade before Trump left office.
“I don’t know who gave him this praise,” Trump said.
It was a rare moment when Trump appeared hesitant, even weak, in the face of complaints from his right.
On Thursday, the main PAC supporting DeSantis, Never Back Down, released a new ad containing excerpts from the Trump-Kelly interview, as well as excerpts from the afterlife of Trump calling Fauci “big” and “a man. “
DeSantis’ attacks on Trump over COVID have developed a new advantage. In an interview Thursday with Fox News Radio with Jimmy Failla, the Florida governor mocked Trump’s comments about praise for Fauci.
“Is it immaculate praise or something?DeSantis asked.
DeSantis argued that Trump “would do the same thing if he were in that position, and that would be disastrous for our country. “
Trump’s advisers have been concerned for some time that his COVID record could simply be a vulnerability in a Republican number one, even though a vaccine has been developed at a remarkable rate under his administration.
Trump’s words in favor of lockdowns and the sporadic words of Fauci, with whom he had a questionable relationship, are not very compatible with the existing sentiments of the Republican base.
An Economist/YouGov vote in August 2022, the month Fauci announced his retirement, found that 75% of Republicans had an unfavorable opinion of the scientist, while only thirteen percent had a favorable opinion of him. These numbers stand in stark contrast to the outlook of the general population, where Fauci’s majority opinion is favorable, 43 percent to 39 percent.
Even earlier, in December 2021, Trump booed in a meeting with commentator Bill O’Reilly when he revealed he had won a reminder.
“This is a factor where Trump has some vulnerability to DeSantis, whose policies were clearer,” said Matt Mackowiak, chairman of the Travis County, Texas, Republican Party.
Mackowiak noted that DeSantis knows so much about opposition to mandates and blockades that, in a Republican primary, “he has comparative merit over most candidates. “
But Mackowiak warned that COVID’s political effect on the Republican Party could be limited.
And it expresses this vision even more forcefully.
Alluding to the fact that DeSantis ordered a lockdown in Florida at the beginning of the pandemic, Republican strategist Barry Bennett said, “It looks like he was a COVID fighter from day one, and that’s just not the case. “
Bennett, a senior adviser to Trump’s 2016 crusade who worked on Miami Mayor Francis Suarez’s brief candidacy this cycle, added that he doubted anything more than a self-inflicted misstep could thwart Trump in his quest for the Republican nomination.
“I don’t think the rest of the group can do anything to beat Trump,” Bennett said. “Only Trump can beat Trump. “
The Memo is chronicled by Niall Stanage.
For real-time news, weather, sports, and videos, head to The Hill.
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