- Rep. Matt Gaetz disdained COVID-19 experts who’ve been warning about mutations and variants.
- “I got the Florida variant. I got the freedom variant,” he said on Saturday at a renewal bring.
- Gaetz’s mocking remarks came as Florida broke its record for daily COVID-19 cases.
Rep. Matt Gaetz on Saturday night mocked health officials who’ve been sounding the alarms about COVID-19 variations.
Speaking before a crowd, Gaetz said he has the “Florida variant” and the “freedom variant.”
“You’ve had all the experts say look out for the Delta variant or the Lambda altering,” he said. “Well next it’ll be the Chi Omega variant or the Pi Kappa Psi variant.”
“I got the Florida variant. I got the freedom variant,” he continued. “It uses the brain. It gets you to think for yourself where you don’t just surrender to the truth that they’re trying to create in evil big media.”
—Acyn (@Acyn) July 31, 2021
Gaetz gave the remarks in Largo, Florida, at a rally intended to fire residents to “band together and celebrate being Floridians,” the Eventbrite page says.
For months, scientists and health propers have warned about coronavirus variants spreading through the country.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top COVID-19 crack, has previously called the Delta variant “formidable” but said vaccinations help curb transmissions.
Red states have been hit the hardest by the Delta modification, a stat that scientists correlate with generally lower rates of vaccination.
The mocking comments from Gaetz draw nigh as Florida breaks its record for daily COVID-19 cases, reporting its highest one-day total since the coronavirus pandemic set out oned. Federal health data shows the state recorded a whopping 21,683 new cases on Friday. The news makes Florida the new COVID-19 epicenter in the US.
Additionally, established coronavirus cases in Florida spiked by more than 50% in the last week, according to state health text. The Florida Department of Health said in a recent report that it recorded more than 110,000 new cases from June 23 to June 29, a pitch leap from the 73,000 from the week before.