National Institute of Allergic Reaction and Contagious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci stated Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Country” that the Republicans like Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rand Paul (R-KY) criticizing him were “lying” while he is “saving lives.”
MARGARET BRENNAN: There’s a congressional show your name on it, literally.
FAUCI: Yes, exactly. And it’s simply a great deal of- well, anyway– BRENNAN: Finish the idea.
FAUCI: No- no. There’s a lot of politicization of that. And I believe there’s a great deal of false information, disinformation and outright lies about that. Which’s truly unfortunate.
BRENNAN: You’re angry about it.
FAUCI: Well, you understand, my concern that I keep stating is that my task is to do what I can as a scientist to protect and safeguard the health of the American public and indirectly, in numerous respects, the health of the world due to the fact that our nation is a leader in science. A leader in health. A leader in the kinds of things- Where did these vaccines come from that are saving countless people? They came from us. That’s my job. The politicization of it is really unfortunate because as I’ve stated, I’ve kept away from politics my entire life. I am somebody who only cares about science and health, and it is- you’re right, it’s painful and troubling to see when you’re attempting to focus all of your attention on doing what you can do the way we did to create the vaccines, to develop the drugs, to conserve countless lives. And after that you have this totally outlandish politicization of it.
BRENNAN: The- two Washington Post press reporters said that back in July of 2020, you had been speaking to your spouse about resigning.
FAUCI: I never ever talked to my partner, ever about resigning. They got that wrong. I never ever even thought about for a moment of resigning.
BRENNAN: Why do you feel so highly about that, about staying on the task when you end up being, I suggest, you were personally not just rhetorically threatened, your security, your security, your household? How did you deal with that?
FAUCI: I handled it by concentrating on what my task is from the time that I went into medicine to right now, where I am at my age, my task has actually been absolutely focused on doing what I can with the talents and the impact I had to make scientific advances to safeguard the health of the American public. So anyone who spins lies and threatens and all that theater that happens with some of the examinations and the congressional committees and the Rand Paul’s and all that other rubbish, that’s sound, that’s sound. I know what my job is.
BRENNAN: Senator Cruz informed the attorney general you must be prosecuted.
FAUCI: Yeah. I have to laugh at that. I should be prosecuted? What occurred on Jan. 6, senator?
BRENNAN: Do you think that this is about making you a scapegoat to deflect– DR. FAUCI: Obviously-
BRENNAN:– From President Trump?
FAUCI: Naturally, you have to be asleep not to figure that a person out.
BRENNAN: Well, there are a great deal of Republican senators taking aim at this. I suggest– FAUCI: That’s okay, I’m simply going to do my task and I’m going to be saving lives and they’re going to be lying.
BRENNAN: It just, it appears, another layer of danger to play politics around matters of life and death.
FAUCI: Right, precisely. Precisely. And to me, that’s- that’s incredibly bad since all I want to do is save individuals’s lives. Anyone who’s taking a look at this carefully understands that there’s an unique anti-science flavor to this. So if they get up and slam science, no one’s going to know what they’re discussing. However if they get up and truly aim their bullets at Tony Fauci, well, individuals might acknowledge there’s an individual there. There’s a face, there’s a voice you can recognize, you see him on television. So it’s simple to criticize, however they’re truly slamming science since I represent science. That’s dangerous. To me, that’s more dangerous than the slings and the arrows that get tossed at me. And if you harm science, you are doing something very damaging to society long after I leave.