On CBS Sunday Morning we were rewarded with a wonderful interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci, probably the most trusted man in America. He was so trusted Donald Trump did not have the guts to fire him even though his fans at a rally chanted “Fire Fauci,” over and over again. He told them to wait until after the election, hinting that then he might have the courage to fire Dr. Fauci. The only reason they chanted that is they did not like what Dr. Fauci told them. Particularly, they did not like what he said because it contradicted everything their spiritual leader Donald Trump had said about the coronavirus pandemic. That’s what Dr. Fauci always did—he told truth to power as he saw it.
He never shied away from doing that. And make no mistake the message he always delivered was not as rosy as Trump wanted it and that is why he did not like the message, and as he usually did, why he wanted to fire the messenger. But in Dr. Fauci’s case Trump just did not have enough courage to do that. It might have made the 2020 presidential election even more lop-sided against him than it already was.
On the show they showed a number of views of Dr. Fauci. Some considered him a saint. Some considered him a hero. Others considered him a disciple of Satan. Dr. Judy Mikovits who unfortunately has garnered a lot of interest on the internet, said, “I believe Dr. Fauci has manufactured the coronavirus.” Not exactly the voice of reason.
It is not surprising that in a country as divided as the United States that there would be such diverse views of Dr. Fauci. Dr. Fauci said this about this issue:
“This is a dramatic example of the divisiveness in our country. We have had a complete distortion in throwing out the scientific facts and evidence and a certain part of the country believed the ‘hoax’ aspect, the ‘fake news,’ aspect. The other half was longing for clarity, longing for facts, longing for truth.”
While some people see Dr. Fauci as a saint, others threaten his life and that of his wife and children. He can’t go for a walk with his wife without armed federal guards. 3 of his children are routinely harassed. As he said, “My 3 daughters are constantly harassed by the crazies.”
As Dr. Fauci said,
“The US had more than 400,000 fatalities as a result of Covid-19. Proportionately, based on its population the US ought to have about 80,000 fatalities. In other words, the US has 5 times the deaths from Covid-19 that it ought to have!”
And not only that, as I keep reminding—and the US is the richest country in the world!
Dr. Fauci acknowledged there were many reasons for this but he emphasized one:
“You can’t have mixed messaging. You cannot have the politicization of public health messages. The idea that wearing a mask or not became a political statement. That makes it beyond difficult to implement good public health measures.”
American public health officials were put in an impossible position.
Donald Trump on national TV with Dr. Fauci beside him said this about Hydroxychloroquine a drug that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for malaria treatment, but not for Covid-19 patients except for experimental studies: “It may work; it may not work. I feel good about it. That’s all it is just a feeling.” Instead of reason he opted for feelings. And more than 70 million Americans thought that was all right. Coming from the president of the country with a legion of fanatically loyal followers this is an extremely dangerous thing to say. I would go so far as to say it was gross negligence. People believed him and risked their lives. Perhaps some died as a result.
As Dr. Fauci said, “the partisanship has been poisonous.” Health issues should not become political footballs. Health issues should be determined by the best science available not feelings.
As Ted Koppel the CBS interviewer said, “In 4 years, from the top, science has been constantly undermined. That is an epidemic of sorts and there is no vaccination for it.”
To this Dr. Fauci added, “We have to show by example that being united is much better than being divisive. Divisiveness has really failed and it has failed in every single way.” 400,000 deaths instead of 80,000 deaths in the richest country in the world makes that pretty plain. Americans or Canadians don’t need more freedom, as groups like the Church of God Restoration claim. They need to respect the science and each other. They need to listen to reason, not feelings.