10/22/20
Staff Editorial
Science is nonpartisan.
Take Dr. Anthony Fauci, for example. Now a household name, Fauci has worked under six U.S. Presidents — four Republicans and two Democrats — and is dubbed by some to be “America’s Doctor.” Fauci didn’t get to his position as the nation’s top infectious-disease specialist by playing politics.
So, with under two weeks to go before the presidential election — and the start of the second wave of COVID-19 — President Donald Trump has begun his attack on Fauci.
After the doctor’s 60 Minutes interview on Sunday, Trump called Fauci a “disaster,” and that “people are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots, all these people that have gotten it wrong.” He then tweeted that Fauci seems to get more airtime than Bob Hope, and that he has a “bad arm.”
Seriously?
The cheap shots, digs and even threats made against Fauci are part of the reason why COVID-19 cases in this country haven’t been going down. Other countries have been figuring it out, why haven’t we?
The COVID-19 pandemic is relatively new, but Fauci is not. As stated above, Fauci has had this job since the 1980s — or, as Trump would say, “500 years” — and is a trained medical expert in this field. What’s to gain by attacking him, other than to make a mockery of and downplay the virus?
It’s ridiculous to think that Fauci is pushing some sort of agenda to keep Americans living in fear, and to make the president look bad. An experienced infectious disease expert, Fauci has no axe to grind and no agenda, except one to ensure the public’s health and safety. Trump — who tested positive for the virus not too long ago — should know this more than anyone.
Additionally, Fauci has been receiving death threats from American citizens, and is now accompanied by security. Nothing like sending threats to a public health official trying to keep others safe during a pandemic.
And, to top it all off, Trump said that if democratic candidate Joe Biden were elected president, he’d “listen to the scientists.”
Is this some sort of ploy by the president to win over voters? To push an anti-science, anti-education bias to win re-election? To those attacking Fauci, including the president: Stop playing bogus politics, and please focus on the greatest health crisis of our time.
