Like many people, I rewatched 1995's "Outbreak", and was struck by this soliloquy by the late great J.T. Walsh, playing the President's Chief of Staff:
"This is the Constitution of the United States. I've read it cover to cover. I don't find anything in it about vaporizing 2,600 American citizens. But it does say, several times, that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process. So, a couple of things before Clean Sweep is even considered. One: unanimous, unwavering support for the president on this. And I mean, public. You're going to stand there shoulder to shoulder with him. He goes down, you go down. And the second thing is, I want an army of experts citing hundreds and thousands of lab experiments telling any idiot with a camera that there was no other way! Got that? Hmm? No member of this government is going to go sneaking off to the Washington Post, telling them how they were the "sole voice of opposition". If there is a voice of opposition out there, I want him in here, now!".
Dr. Fauci strikes me as exactly the guy this scene is alluding to - he is defacto the "sole voice of opposition", and constantly finds ways to cover his own ass while subtly undermining the unified (and reassuring) message Trump is trying to put out.
Now, Fauci is obviously a successful government careerist who knows which way the political wind is blowing, but his "natural state" is as a Democratic, not a Republican swamp rat.
Some of the data points coming to light:
- his characterization of the efficacy of chloroquine as "anecdotal" is factually incorrect
- his guidance and response to the H1N1 virus, given very similar evidence and risk as coronavirus, was much more measured and reasonable
- conversely, he was very concerned about HIV, and lobbied for (and secured) massive government research funds completely disproportionate to the threat to public health
- his fawning email to Hillary Clinton
I think Trump's in a quandry - he knows Fauci will stab him in the back if he thought he could get away with it, but is reluctant to replace him because it would create even more panic and give the MSM and the Demonrats a ready-made line of attack (e.g. lots of fawning stories with phrases like "public health expert" and "faithful public servant" in them).
Thoughts, pedes?
Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. That's why he has Brix, the Surgeon General, and other doctors on the White House Task Force, so that Fauci is not the only voice. If he were not on the Task Force, he would be armchair quarterbacking for the left every single broadcast.
Birx is a lefty snake also
One thing about trump, he says what he wants, even if it goes against fauchi. Good for him.
Kek
No. That is actually correct as no official study has taken place. "Anecdotaly" it is kicking ass and will be applied massively as a result. Both positions are not mutually exclusive.
But yet people on our side are hammering Obama for not giving a shit and letting people die?
Two emails from 2012 and 2013. Disagree with his assessment of Hillary, but he is free to have stupid politics, just like you are free to have tweets from then and not be fired in 2020.
This is most accurate