Dr. Fauci Accused Trump and His Allies of “Harassing” Him, Trump Responded by Attacking Fauci on Twitter
Dr. Fauci: “I’m Not Going to Walk Away From This Outbreak, No Matter Who’s the President.”
Dr. Fauci Has Received Death Threats During Pandemic
Throughout the pandemic, Trump has repeatedly attacked medical health experts and refused to follow their guidance in dealing with the virus. As a result, the US now faces the worst outbreak in the world with more than 215,000 deaths and nearly 8 million infections.
Trump has nonetheless elevated his attacks on the nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, for telling Americans the truth and pushing back against Trump campaign’s propaganda. Trump’s war on science and neglecting expert guidance will not make the virus go away and his attacks on Fauci only make the current crisis worse.
Trump Is Escalating His Attacks on Dr. Fauci as Fauci Pushes Back Against the Trump Campaign’s Propaganda
- Trump Attacked Dr. Fauci On Twitter By Suggesting That Fauci Had Been Inaccurate About His Predictions About The Coronavirus. “Actually, Tony’s pitching arm is far more accurate than his prognostications. ‘No problem, no masks’. WHO no longer likes Lockdowns – just came out against. Trump was right. We saved 2,000,000 USA lives!!!” [Twitter, @DonaldJTrump, 10/13/20]
- Dr. Fauci: “I’m Not Going To Walk Away From This Outbreak, No Matter Who’s The President.” “On Monday, Fauci said he is not deterred and will continue to serve in his role despite the criticism.‘I’m not going to walk away from this outbreak, no matter who’s the president,’ Fauci told CNBC.” [CNN, 10/13/20]
- Dr. Fauci Responded That It Was “Really Unfortunate And Really Disappointing” That The Trump Campaign Used Him In A Television Ad And Asked For The Ad To Be Taken Down. “Dr. Anthony Fauci said Monday that the Trump campaign should take down the political advertisement that he’s featured in, calling his presence in the spot ‘really unfortunate and really disappointing.’ Fauci’s latest comments come one day after he told CNN he did not consent to being featured in the Trump team’s new advertisement and that his words were taken out of context. ‘It’s so clear that I’m not a political person,’ the nation’s leading infectious disease expert told CNN’s Jake Tapper on ‘The Lead.’ ‘And I have never — either directly or indirectly — endorsed a political candidate. And to take a completely out of context statement and put it in which is obviously a political campaign ad, I thought was really very disappointing’” [CNN, 10/12/20]
- Dr. Fauci On The Trump Campaign Using Him In Ads: “By Doing This Against My Will They Are, In Effect, Harassing Me.” “‘By doing this against my will they are, in effect, harassing me,’ Fauci said. ‘Since campaign ads are about getting votes, their harassment of me might have the opposite effect of turning some voters off.’ Fauci comments underscore the heightened level of tension that has erupted between the White House and the president’s COVID task force as the election comes to a dramatic close and with COVID infections spiking across the country.” [Daily Beast, 10/12/20]
- Dr. Fauci Stated That It Would Be “Outrageous” For The Trump Campaign To Use Him In Another Campaign Ad. “Tapper, meanwhile, suggested that the Trump campaign was already planning on using Fauci again, without his permission, in another political commercial. ‘What would you say if I told you I heard the Trump campaign was preparing to do another ad featuring you?’ Tapper asked. ‘You know, that would be terrible,’ a deflated Fauci sighed. ‘That would be outrageous if they do that. In fact, that might actually come back to backfire on them.’ ‘I hope they don’t do that,’ the public health expert continued. ‘That would be kind of playing a game that we don’t want to play. I hope they reconsider that, if in fact, they are indeed considering doing that. I hope they reconsider and not do that.’” [Daily Beast, 10/12/20]
- ABC News’ Jon Karl Said The White House Blocked Dr. Fauci From Appearing On ABC To Discuss Rising Cases In The Administration And Across The Country. “The White House refused to allow Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading infectious disease expert on the administration’s coronavirus task force, to appear on Sunday’s episode of ABC’s “This Week,” host Jon Karl said. Fauci had been willing to appear, but the White House wouldn’t sign off, Karl said in the show’s opening. ‘We had hoped to talk to Dr. Fauci about both the outbreak at the White House and across the country,’ Karl said. ‘He was more than willing to join us, but the White House wouldn’t allow you to hear from the nation’s leading expert on the coronavirus. ‘In fact, they wouldn’t allow any of the medical experts on the president’s own coronavirus task force to appear on this show,’ he added.” [Huffington Post, 10/11/20]
Trump and His Allies Have Routinely Attacked Dr. Fauci Throughout the Pandemic
- Trump’s Attempts To Use Fauci’s Words For Political Gain Come After Months Of Attacking Dr. Fauci. “Trump expressed frustration with Fauci as early as April, when he reposted a #FireFauci hashtag after the doctor said in a CNN appearance that shutting the country down earlier could have saved more lies. Since then, undermining Fauci has been a mainstay of Trump’s coronavirus strategy, from attempting to tank his credibility by trashing him in the media to shunting him aside over CDC testing guidelines—a decision the administration made when Fauci was undergoing surgery. Recently, Trump health officials reportedly tried to censor Fauci’s planned interview responses, including pressuring him not to promote mask-wearing by children because it would undercut Trump’s misleading claims.” [Vanity Fair, 10/12/20]
- Caputo Aide Paul Alexander Tried To Muzzle Dr. Fauci On The Threat Of Coronavirus To Children. “A Trump administration appointee at the Department of Health and Human Services is trying to prevent Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, from speaking about the risks that coronavirus poses to children. Emails obtained by POLITICO show Paul Alexander — a senior adviser to Michael Caputo, HHS’s assistant secretary for public affairs — instructing press officers and others at the National Institutes of Health about what Fauci should say during media interviews. The Trump adviser weighed in on Fauci’s planned responses to outlets including Bloomberg News, BuzzFeed, Huffington Post and the science journal Cell. Alexander’s lengthy messages, some sent as recently as this week, are couched as scientific arguments. But they often contradict mainstream science while promoting political positions taken by the Trump administration on hot-button issues ranging from the use of convalescent plasma to school reopening.” [Politico, 9/9/20]
- Trump On July 10, 2020: “Dr. Fauci Is A Nice Man, But He’s Made A Lot Of Mistakes.” “’Dr. Fauci is a nice man, but he’s made a lot of mistakes,’ Trump said. ‘A lot of them said don’t wear a mask, don’t wear a mask,” the president added. ‘Now they are saying wear a mask. A lot of mistakes were made, a lot of mistakes.’” [NBC News, 7/10/20]
- White House Deputy Chief Of Staff For Communications Dan Scavino Posted An Image Mocking Dr. Fauci That Was Made By An Artist Who Has Been Accused Of Creating Anti-Semitic Imagery. “But Dan Scavino, the White House deputy chief of staff for communications, undercut that message by posting a cartoon mocking Dr. Fauci by an artist whose work has been criticized for its anti-Semitic imagery. Mr. Scavino on Sunday posted on Facebook a rendering of Dr. Fauci that likened him to a faucet drowning Uncle Sam — in the case, representing the economy — with water drops labeled with mock public health warnings considered antithetical to White House policy: ‘Schools stay closed this fall!’ ‘Indefinite lockdown!’ ‘Shut up and obey!’” [New York Times, 7/14/20]
[New York Times, 7/14/20]
- The White House Has Been Circulating Opposition Research On Dr. Fauci, Sending Reporters A List Of Comments Fauci Made Early In The Coronavirus Crisis In An Effort To Undermine Fauci’s Expertise. “The White House has sent reporters at several mainstream media organizations a lengthy list of comments Dr. Anthony Fauci made early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, in an apparent push to undermine the nation’s top federal infectious disease expert after he publicly disagreed with President Trump’s optimistic assessment of the growing outbreak in the U.S.” [The Week, 7/13/20]
- On July 11, The White House Released A Statement Saying: “Several White House Officials Are Concerned About The Number Of Times Dr. Fauci Has Been Wrong On Things.” “A White House official released a statement saying that “several White House officials are concerned about the number of times Dr. Fauci has been wrong on things” and included a lengthy list of the scientist’s comments from early in the outbreak.” [Washington Post, 7/11/20]
- Assistant To The President Peter Navarro For USA Today: “Anthony Fauci Has Been Wrong About Everything I Have Interacted With Him On.” Dr. Anthony Fauci has a good bedside manner with the public, but he has been wrong about everything I have interacted with him on… Now Fauci says a falling mortality rate doesn’t matter when it is the single most important statistic to help guide the pace of our economic reopening. The lower the mortality rate, the faster and more we can open. So when you ask me whether I listen to Dr. Fauci’s advice, my answer is: only with skepticism and caution.” [USA Today, Peter Navarro, 7/14/20]
Trump’s Attacks on Dr. Fauci During the Pandemic Have Resulted in Fauci Receiving Death Threats and His Daughters Being Harassed
- Dr. Fauci Revealed That He Has Received Death Threats And His Daughters Have Been Harassed Because Of His Public Statements About Coronavirus. “Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday that he has received death threats and his daughters have been harassed as a result of his high-profile statements about the coronavirus pandemic. ‘Getting death threats for me and my family and harassing my daughters to the point where I have to get security is just, I mean, it’s amazing,’ Fauci said. Fauci, who plays a key role on the White House Coronavirus Task Force, didn’t reveal any more details about the threats and harassment. But he said he and his wife, and his three daughters, who live in three separate cities, are weathering the stress. ‘I wish that they did not have to go through that,’ Fauci said. He made his comments Wednesday during an online forum sponsored by Harvard University that CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta moderated.” [NPR, 8/5/20]
- Dr. Fauci Stated That He Never Imagined That He Would Be Threatened For Making Comments About Science. “Fauci has led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984 and has advised six presidents on matters of public health. In recent months, he has sometimes made statements that have contradicted President Trump. ‘I wouldn’t have imagined in my wildest dreams that people who object to things that are pure public health principles are so set against it, and don’t like what you and I say, namely in the word of science, that they actually threaten you. I mean, that to me is just strange,’ Fauci said.” [NPR, 8/5/20]