A visibly annoyed Dr. Anthony Fauci declared Wednesday that Republican “attacks” against him and how he’s handled the coronavirus pandemic are “attacks on science.”
“People want to fire me or put me in jail for what I’ve done, mainly followed the science,” the White House chief medical adviser told MSNBC’s Chuck Todd. “I could spend the next half an hour going through each and every point that they make. It’s preposterous, Chuck. Totally preposterous.”
“It’s very dangerous, Chuck, because a lot of what you’re seeing as attacks on me, quite frankly, are attacks on science,” Dr. Fauci continued. “Because all of the things that I have spoken about consistently from the very beginning have been fundamentally based on science. Sometimes those things were inconvenient truths for people, and there was pushback against me.
“So if you are trying to get at me as a public health official and a scientist, you’re really attacking not only Dr. Anthony Fauci, you are attacking science,” he added. “And anybody that looks at what’s going on clearly sees that. You have to be asleep not to see that. That is what’s going on. Science and the truth are being attacked.”
Dr. Fauci made his comments while discussing a video recently posted by Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn, who claimed he had worked with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on crafting a “narrative” surrounding COVID-19.
Dr. Fauci said Wednesday he didn’t “have a clue” what Ms. Blackburn was talking about.
“I have no idea what she’s talking about,” he said. “And I’m sorry, I don’t want to be pejorative against a United States senator but I have no idea what she’s talking about. And you know, Chuck, if you go through each and every one of the points which are so ridiculous, just painfully ridiculous, but nonetheless, if you go through each and every one of them, you can explain and debunk it immediately. I mean every single one.”
Top Republicans on the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees are requesting Facebook provide communications between Mr. Zuckerberg and Dr. Fauci during the pandemic after emails between them were surfaced by Buzzfeed News.
Dr. Fauci: “A lot of what you’re seeing as attacks on me, quite frankly, are attacks on science.” pic.twitter.com/QBtvE0Nw7V
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) June 9, 2021
