Mehdi Hasan’s attempt to “gotcha” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis fell hilariously flat this week.
It started with Hasan’s complaint about former NIAID Director Anthony Fauci being dragged before the Senate, where he would proceed to invoke his 5th Amendment rights against self-incrimination.
Look:
A reminder that Republicans want you to believe that Covid came from a Chinese laboratory but also it was totally harmless, less deadly than the flu, and didn’t require any protections.
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) August 1, 2026
“A reminder that Republicans want you to believe that Covid came from a Chinese laboratory but also it was totally harmless, less deadly than the flu, and didn’t require any protections,” he wrote, as if those two things can’t possibly be true at the same time.
DeSantis boasted about Florida refusing to abide by Fauci’s demands during the COVID era, which positioned them as one of the most popular states in the country.
We refused to allow Florida to descend into a Faucian dystopia.
Fauci attacked me in his diaries for bucking his draconian edicts, and those attacks are badges of honor! https://t.co/szP45P59Yy
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) August 3, 2026
“We refused to allow Florida to descend into a Faucian dystopia. Fauci attacked me in his diaries for bucking his draconian edicts, and those attacks are badges of honor!” the governor wrote on X.
Given his disdain for anything anti-Fauci, Hasan responded to DeSantis’s post by weaponizing the number of reported deaths that occurred in the state during COVID.
90,000 Floridians died during the COVID pandemic. 90,000. https://t.co/sewu5s1ft9
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) August 4, 2026
“90,000 Floridians died during the COVID pandemic. 90,000,” he said, stripping that number of any nuance or context necessary for accurate interpretation.
But X users quickly noted that Hasan was missing:
Ok Mehdi you can do much better than this.
1. The disease mongering industry grossly inflated the death rate. Only a minority of people from those numbers died because of Covid as opposed to ‘with Covid’
2. 90% of the deaths from Covid happened in countries where more than… https://t.co/n57ZLiyzEQ
— Dr Aseem Malhotra (@DrAseemMalhotra) August 4, 2026
Dr. Aseem Malhotra broke it down for the former MSNBC host:
Ok Mehdi you can do much better than this.
1. The disease mongering industry grossly inflated the death rate. Only a minority of people from those numbers died because of Covid as opposed to ‘with Covid’
2. 90% of the deaths from Covid happened in countries where more than 50% of the population is overweight or obese.
ADVERTISEMENT3. The collateral damage from lockdowns exceeded the deaths from Covid by orders of magnitude
4. The infection fatality rate of Covid for those under 70 was similar to the flu
5. Focused protection of elderly would have been far more prudent approach
6. Information on alternative ( non -colonialist medicine) treatments were suppressed including rapid reduction in risk from dietary changes & vitamin D status.
Other X users chimed in:
Age adjusted excess mortality was about the same or higher in NY and CA, where the draconian measures you prefer were pursued.
So what the hell is your point here?
— BOUTROS ⽊ (@boutros555) August 4, 2026
Messi Hasan: “They died during the COVID pandemic.”
Angry Goose: “WHAT DID THEY DIE OF??”
— I (@selfie_monkey) August 4, 2026
During not due to, important distinction
— Andyg55 (@Andyg551) August 4, 2026
Good thing nobody died in locked down California where people were arrested for surfing
— Infidel🇺🇲 (@Oreallynow1) August 4, 2026
“…during the COVID pandemic.”
Not “from COVID.”
Mehdi is out here choosing carefully selected words for his “gotcha” response, hoping no one will notice how disingenuous he is.
— Sagittarius A* 💫🇺🇸 (@deepblueocean_1) August 4, 2026
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to write. Marlee also contributes to BizPac Review.
- Man arrested outside Trump’s golf club just before president’s arrival - August 5, 2026
- James Talarico’s latest stunt is turning plenty of heads—for unexpected reasons - August 5, 2026
- Whoopi drops a paycheck bombshell that has fans doing the math - August 5, 2026
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.