CNN reporter Jim Acosta says new variants of the SARS-Co-V-2 like the Delta strain now spreading in the U.S. should be named after Republican governors who don’t enforce COVID-19 safety rules, which drew immediate mockery from Republicans on wags on social media.
Acosta singled out Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has opposed a new federal move to mandate masks amid the new outbreak.
“As the nation battles the Delta variant, states remain divided between those fighting the virus and those fighting the science. States led by politicians who know better. Case in point: Florida,” he said.
“People should not have to die so some politicians can own the libs,” Acosta said. “They’re not owning anybody. They may end up owning the pandemic because they’re prolonging it. Perhaps it may be time to start naming these new variants after them. Why not call it the DeSantis variant instead of the Delta variant?”
“We could sell beer koozies that say ‘Don’t Florida My Fauci,’ and use the money to help pay for all of the funerals in the days to come,” Acosta said.
DeSantis spokesman Christina Pushaw told Fox News that Acosta’s attacks clearly show Acosta is “afraid” of the Florida governor.
“It’s clear that CNN, which apparently functions as a PR firm for the Democratic Party, is afraid of Governor DeSantis,” Christina Pushaw said. “Why? Because he’s leading our state through the challenges of this pandemic while respecting parents’ rights to raise their kids, workers’ rights to earn a living, and everyone’s right to make their own informed decisions.”
“DeSantis,” Pushaw added, “always made data-driven decisions and worked tirelessly to prioritize seniors and other vulnerable Floridians for the vaccines, instead of relying on the ever-changing, poorly sourced ‘guidance’ of federal bureaucrats. ”
His leadership, she concluded, is “inconvenient for CNN’s narrative of fear over facts, and that’s why CNN is attacking him.”
Fox News contributor Joe Concha, a columnist with The Hill, also told Fox that Acosta is embarrassing the network.
“Why does Acosta spend infinitely more time talking about Trump and other Republicans than he does the current President and House Speaker in power?” Concha asked. “A look at transcripts of his ‘news’ program shows he’s truly State TV serving at the pleasure of the Democratic Party in attacking Republicans while barely touching the blue team. He’s an embarrassment and nothing more.”
Others piled on.
“Using CNN’s ‘logic’ from last year, shouldn’t the new strain be called the Biden variant?” one person wrote on Twitter.
Using CNN’s “logic” from last year, shouldn’t the new strain be called the Biden variant?
— Doug Powers (@ThePowersThatBe) August 7, 2021
The establishment media is increasingly worried about DeSantis, who has become a frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination for president. President Biden has targeted DeSantis, saying he has abdicated his duty to Floridians by lifting mask mandates. DeSantis fired back, saying Biden has failed to secure the border, which is leading to the spread of COVID-19.
“This is a guy who ran for office saying he’s going to shut down the virus,” he added. “And what has he done? He’s imported more virus from around the world by having a wide-open southern border,” he said.