Dr. Anthony Fauci is not a politician — at least, not in the elected sense. He had to have a certain kind of political skill to get to be the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. But daily interactions with the media wasn’t in the job description.
But the good doctor is learning. He’s learning how to say a lot without saying anything. This is especially true about controversial subjects like social distancing during demonstrations involving radical groups like Black Lives Matter or antifa.
To you and me, it’s not controversial. Except Fauci heavily criticized Donald Trump for the Rose Garden press conference introducing Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. It became a “supersreader” event, which I guess the media defines as any Trump event where more than one person gets sick from the coronavirus.
Political demonstrations by radicals, riots, marches — these are probably superspreader events too, but strangely, no one appears to be keeping track of how many participants in these marches get sick. I wonder why that is?
Fauci was asked by the Washington Examiner whether the Women’s March last weekend, where thousands of people made a hash of DC’s social-distancing law by crowding together to demonstrate against Donald Trump. Was it a “superspreader” event?
He didn’t deign to reply. Washington Examiner:
Thousands of people gathered in D.C. on Saturday to protest against Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett and President Trump.
Fauci, however, has not condemned the gathering for breaking coronavirus health guidelines on social distancing after a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.
[…]
Fauci, however, has not condemned the gathering for breaking coronavirus health guidelines on social distancing after a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.
Fauci made headlines Sunday for again condemning an event held at the White House last month when Trump announced the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
“When I saw that on TV, I said, ‘Oh my goodness. Nothing good can come out of that. That’s got to be a problem.’ And then, sure enough, it turned out to be a superspreader event,” Fauci said this weekend of the White House event, which hosted about 150 people.
It’s weird. Big city mayors when asked the same question get all tongue-tied and can’t find the right words. The affliction appears to have hit Fauci as well.
Fauci was previously grilled in June over whether he would recommend the government “limit” protests after he acknowledged large gatherings contribute to the spread of the virus but refused to give a direct answer.
“Crowding together, particularly when you’re not wearing a mask, contributes to the spread of the virus,” Fauci said in response to questioning from Jordan.
“Should we limit the protesting?” Jordan asked.
“I’m not in a position to determine what the government can do in a forceful way,” Fauci responded.
And yet, he’s fond of saying “I told ya so” when it comes to Trump rallies.
If the coronavirus is spread at Trump rallies — and there’s no evidence that it is — why does the media approvingly report on several thousand shrieking women crowded together berating Trump while breathlessly reporting that there are thousands of people at the Trump rally and many aren’t wearing masks!
Fauci doesn’t want to get in trouble with the harpies from the Women’s March or any other radical group. They can have him canceled in a heartbeat whereas criticizing Trump only results in the president scolding him on Twitter. So like a true bureaucrat, Fauci has a perfect sense of self-preservation.
Trump should be done with him pretty soon — if he doesn’t leave voluntarily.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member