National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases head Dr. Anthony Fauci said Friday on Fox News Channel’s “Your World” that he was criticized because “loyalists” of former President Donald Trump get “annoyed” with him for telling the truth.
Cavuto said, “Just now, Congressman Madison Cawthorn has said if Republicans gain control, he wants you investigated for being a pawn of the Chinese Communist Party. Rand Paul all but blamed the deaths of all these people worldwide on you. Even though he backed off on some of that. Think about what you got involved with President Trump in the beginning when all of this started. Have you ever gotten to the point where you just want to say, ‘The hell with it? I don’t need this?’”
Fauci said, “No. I’m a scientist, and my job which I’m doing, which I’ve done was to develop the vaccines that saved millions of lives already, is to be a scientist and a public health official. I certainly don’t like how all of this has turned out to be so contentious. I mean, when a congressman makes a statement, I forgot what it was, that they take over the House in 2022, I should be criminally investigated. On what basis is he making that comment? Neil, you’ve got to get realistic about that. Yes, we have somewhat of a confrontation with Senator Paul because of the, I think inflammatory statements he made about lying. But where do you come off talking about criminal things?”
Cavuto asked, “Do you think any of this comes back, Doctor, that you challenged President Trump at the time on a couple of things?”
Fauci said, “I think there’s no doubt that because I had to speak the truth during the Trump administration, which at times was contrary to President Trump, that that annoyed a lot of people who got very upset with me. But I wasn’t doing anything personal. I was just trying to speak the truth about what was really going on with the outbreak. It was nothing at all against President Trump. And in fact, if you look at the record, I have never said anything derogatory against the president. I was only talking about correcting misstatements about the science. I had nothing against the president at all. Not at all. He knows that. In fact, he even says that at times.”
He added, “But when I was saying things that this is not going to just disappear, that this is not going to just go away, that we do have a very serious problem, that annoyed a lot of Trump loyalists. I’m sorry it annoyed them, but it is the truth. And that’s what I was trying to do and still do, is to tell the truth.”
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