Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is questioning whether Dr. Anthony Fauci will be pulled “down off social media” following his remarks about the origins of COVID-19.
During a press conference on Monday, DeSantis mentioned reporting from The Wall Street Journal that reveals three researchers from China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology were hospitalized in 2019.
“Now we have information that this very well may have emanated from the Wuhan lab, that it was a leak from the lab. But, you remember when people last year were raising that as something that needed to be investigated. They were de-platformed for talking about the lab leak. They were censored for having said that,” DeSantis said.
He continued, “Now, even Fauci admits that this may be something that very well is the case. Are they gonna now censor Fauci and pull him down off social media?”
Watch part of the press conference below:
Gov. DeSantis (R-FL) on WSJ reporting that researchers in Wuhan lab showed early COVID symptoms, bringing up questions of virus origins:
— The Recount (@therecount) May 24, 2021
“Even Fauci admits that this may be something that very well is the case. Are they gonna now censor Fauci and pull him down off social media?” pic.twitter.com/lxwLMBWVLS
When asked if he believes the virus “developed naturally,” Fauci responded during an event, “No, actually.”
He added, “I am not convinced about that. I think we should continue to investigate what went on in China until we continue to find out to the best of our ability what happened.”
A State Department fact sheet, released by the Trump administration, said several researchers at the lab fell ill in the fall of 2019 “with symptoms consistent with both Covid-19 and common seasonal illness.”
China’s foreign ministry commented on the matter, telling The Wall Street Journal, “The U.S. continues to hype the lab leak theory.”
The foreign ministry continued, “Is it actually concerned about tracing the source or trying to divert attention?”
A spokeswoman for the National Security Council told The Wall Street Journal, “We continue to have serious questions about the earliest days of the Covid-19 pandemic, including its origins within the People’s Republic of China.”