OPINION:
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease director Anthony Fauci, on a recent interview on CNN with host Chris Wallace, said the former president, Donald Trump, was to blame for many, oh so many — how many? He wouldn’t say — but many, oh so many deaths tied to COVID-19.
But the Great Obfuscater once again hid behind his obfuscating ways.
He blamed Trump in a way that still allowed him a way to deny he blamed Trump.
He was asked, as The Hill wrote, “how tough was that, dealing with and sharing a podium with a president who … was dispensing misinformation?”
And on cue, Fauci said, “Yes, it was very painful. And that’s the reason why I had to do something that I know alienated a lot the Trump people, in fact, maybe all of the Trump people. But I had to … go to the podium and say, ‘I’m sorry, I disagree with you.’”
And that was hurtful, Fauci whined.
“But his staff declared war on me,” he whined even more.
“And war on me was they did sort of opposition research on me and sent out information that I didn’t know what I was talking about,” he whined yet even more.
Boo. Freaking. Hoo.
Then in that same interview came the blame game against Trump.
“Fauci Blames Trump for Covid Deaths in Chris Wallace Interview; Won’t Say How Many Because ‘You Do, It’s a Headline,’” Mediaite wrote.
Wallace asked Fauci “if the government had been smarter right from the start … could we have had a lot fewer deaths?”
It’s a stupid question. It’s a “who knows” kind of question. But it’s also a stupid “who knows” type of question that allows the answerer to spin the answer as pleased. And spin Fauci did.
“I believe so,” he said, as Mediaite noted. “I believe so. I mean, I can’t quantitate it for you about how many less deaths. You can’t even model that, I don’t think. But there were certain things that were done that if they were done differently, we likely would have had.”
Woulda. Coulda. Shoulda.
Even then, it’s a “who knows?”
Wallace asked again, “Do you think that we might have avoided, that there were hundreds of thousands of deaths that were preventable?”
And Fauci’s reply: “Again, it’s really tough, Chris, to quantitate it because do, it’s a headline, and I don’t want to do that.”
It’s enough for Fauci to agree — then let the deceptive members of the media do all the subsequent quantifying. Right?
This is how Fauci operates.
He hems, he haws, he leaves sentences half-complete. He lets the imaginations of listeners fill in the blank. He allows for this and that, calling it science all the while, but then saying he can’t be sure of this and that — yet leaving it in the air that it’s still science, it’s irrefutable science, it’s settled science, and that those who disagree with his statements are actually launching attacks on science.
This guy.
He’s about as non-scientific — that is to say, fork-tongued — as it gets.
Now he is throwing his political bias full throttle into the media cycle, floating that Trump has blood on his hands for COVID-19 response. Trump — the one who sped through vaccinations. Trump — the one who wanted to shut down travel from China. Tump — the one who wanted to control who comes in America’s borders. It’s ridiculous to even contemplate that Trump could have done more to stop the coronavirus from spreading.
It’s outright outrageous to suggest that Trump is to blame for any COVID-19 deaths at all.
How about Fauci instead turn his eyes to the Joe Biden administration and talk about the end of Title 42 — you know, the Trump policy that limited border crossings based on COVID-19 concerns? How about the media go wag fingers at New York’s former governor, Andrew Cuomo, whom even The New York Times reported “failed to publicly account for the deaths of about 4,100 nursing home residents” during the pandemic lockdowns and who, at this very moment, is said to be seeking a political comeback? Plenty there to keep the press occupied. Plenty there for Fauci to blame.
But Fauci, the Great Deceiver, is more interested in slamming a political firebrand who is much loved by the conservative base, than in advancing scientific truth, or even curing COVID-19, for that matter (unless it involves generative vaccine, booster, booster, booster and more vaccine and booster profits).
Fact is, Fauci is more damaging to America than the coronavirus. His deceits have compromised the world of science for years to come; his political biases have infected government health agencies for decades to come.
That he still even has a job is a disgrace.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “Socialists Don’t Sleep: Christians Must Rise Or America Will Fall,” is available by clicking HERE.
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