The past week saw Dr. Anthony Fauci, the face of the coronavirus pandemic response, announce he would step down from his role in government after 50 years, leading to some tributes but also a lot of criticism. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden hit the midterm campaign trail, having some choice words for MAGA supporters, several important primaries played out in New York and Florida, and in a possible preview of a future presidential race, California Gov. Gavin Newsom turned his attention to his Florida counterpart Ron DeSantis. Here are the quotes of the week.
“While I am moving on from my current positions, I am not retiring. After more than 50 years of government service, I plan to pursue the next phase of my career while I still have so much energy and passion for my field.”
- Dr. Anthony Fauci says he’s stepping down from his positions as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, chief of the NIAID’s Laboratory of Immunoregulation, and chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden.
“I should have double checked before I retweeted this list. My bad. Looks like some of the books weren’t banned. Book bans are very real & dangerous.”
- Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, apologizes for tweeting a fake list of books supposedly banned in Florida schools.
“They continue to try to fool you like they are helping you out. But they’re not. They’re not helping you out because a lot of money, it’s going to trees.”
- Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker has an interesting take on opposition to the climate bill.
“Good morning ladies and gentlemen, this is your governor speaking. Today’s training evolution — dogfighting, taking on the corporate media. The rules of engagement are as follows: No. 1: Don’t fire unless fired upon, but when they fire, you fire back with overwhelming force. No. 2: Never ever back down from a fight. No. 3: Don’t accept their narrative.”
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis channels his inner Maverick with a Top Gun-inspired campaign ad.
“By the way, for the record, I say that if Donald Trump actually still had the nuclear codes, it would probably be good. Our enemies — our enemies — might actually be like, ‘OK, maybe let’s not mess with them.’ I’m like, when they look at Joe Biden, then they say, ‘We should attack now.'”
- Donald Trump Jr. makes light of the Mar-a-Lago raid and the rumors his father held on to classified material relating to nuclear documents.
“Unless Dr. Fauci, retirement or not, decides to seek asylum in some remote, obscure foreign country whose Powerball jackpot is 287 chickens and a goat, and therefore will not enforce a subpoena from the United States Congress, then Dr. Fauci, retirement or not, is going to be spending a lot of time in front of congressional committees.”
- Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) on Fauci’s decision to step down at the end of the year.
“I don’t want your vote. If you have that hate in your heart, keep it. I want the vote of the people in Florida who care about our state. Good Democrats, good independents, good Republicans.”
- Charlie Crist, the Democratic candidate for governor in Florida, says he doesn’t want the vote of DeSantis supporters.
“Pouring roughly half trillion dollars of gasoline on the inflationary fire that is already burning is reckless. Doing it while going well beyond one campaign promise ($10K of student loan relief) and breaking another (all proposals paid for) is even worse.”
- Jason Furman, who served as former President Barack Obama’s chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, has some choice words for Biden’s student loan plans.
“I didn’t have any advanced notice. None. Zero. Not one single bit.”
- Biden says he was not clued in on the Mar-a-Lago FBI raid before it happened.
“Is it fair to people who, in fact, do not own multibillion-dollar businesses if they see one of these guys getting all the tax breaks? Is that fair? What do you think?”
- Biden appears to concede that the student loan scheme isn’t perfect and may not be fair for those who have already paid their loans back.
“Complete horse manure. The Iran nuclear deal is designed to let the Ayatollah cheat his way to a nuclear arsenal. These so-called ‘most rigorous and intensive’ inspections failed in the last deal — and will be even weaker this time.”
- Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) calls out State Department spokesman Ned Price for saying the Iran nuclear deal would have robust inspections.
“Republicans should be very, very, very scared this morning about their prospects.”
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is bullish about her party’s chances come November after a surprise special election win.
“I’m just sick of seeing him. I know he says he’s gonna retire. Someone needs to grab that little elf and chuck him across the Potomac!”
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has some harsh words for retiring Fauci.
“He is a pawn for the Democrats to get whatever they want.”
- Former President Donald Trump slams old foe Mitch McConnell.
“F*** you, Dr. Fauci!”
- Megyn Kelly reacts to Fauci saying he would “consider” complying with a congressional subpoena.
“[Biden’s] record on fiscal responsibility is second to none.”
- White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre hails her boss’s record of spending discipline while defending his student loan forgiveness plan’s price tag.
“Time to make Ron DeSantis a one-term governor.”
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom pledges $100,000 to DeSantis’s Democratic opponent Charlie Crist.
“What we’re seeing now is either the beginning or the death knell of an extreme MAGA philosophy. It’s not just Trump. It’s the entire philosophy that underpins the — I’m going to say something, it’s like semifascism.”
- Biden has choice words for Trump fans as he heads back out on the campaign trail.
