(PM.) Governor Ron DeSantis came under fire on Tuesday after it was revealed that a fundraising event for his presidential campaign will be hosted by a lobbyist for vaccine manufacturer Moderna, Daily Mail reports.
The fundraiser is set to take place in Washington, DC next month and comes at the same time the Republican governor has called for a grand jury investigation into Moderna over their Covid-19 vaccines and manufacturing of puberty blockers.
It was also revealed that the Moderna lobbyist, Marc Lampkin, has represented Chinese-owned semiconductor company Fujian Jinhua, which brewed the perfect storm for the Trump campaign to continue their allegations that DeSantis is a “globalist.”
Jason Miller, senior Trump campaign aide and former White House senior adviser, called Gov. DeSantis a “sell out” and slammed the fundraising event.
“It’s no surprise Ron DeSanctimonious would do a fundraiser with a lobbyist for a Chinese semiconductor company considering his globalist masters at the Club for No Growth have a China First trade policy,” Miller said.
“‘DeSanctus’ hypocrisy surrounding the COVID vaccine, and his willingness to accept money from a representative of a company manufacturing puberty blockers, also show that DeSanctus is willing to sell out for anything if the price is right,” he added.
According to records, the manufacturing drug company AbbieVie pays Lampkin’s firm $240,000 per year to lobby in Washington D.C., Daily Mail reports.
This has sparked concern and speculation amongst critics as Gov. DeSantis signed a bill into law last month that bans gender-affirming care for minors, which includes puberty blockers.
DeSantis also blamed the rise in child sex change procedures on an “ideologically charged small group of folks within medicine.”
“They’re trying to do sex change operations on minors, giving them things like puberty blockers, and doing things that are irreversible to them,” DeSantis said, as he signed the bill into law.
Gov. DeSantis also called on the Florida Supreme Court in December to conduct a grand jury investigation into the “wrongdoing” of the pharmaceutical company as well as others in regard to Covid-19 vaccines.
DeSantis’ petition, which references Moderna 11 times, states, “An investigation is warranted to determine whether the pharmaceutical industry has engaged in fraudulent practices.”
