Thread by @ASlavitt

COVID Update May 14: The attacks on Anthony Fauci is a mis-placed hit job.

And it’s actually dangerous. 1/

The portrayal of Fauci, who served under 6 US presidents (4 of them Republican), is as a partisan.

In some circles, this accusation is what passes for evidence that someone is out to bring Trump down. 2/

Anthony Fauci’s only deep interest in politics is avoiding it. 3/

In 1985, then Vice President George HW Bush didn’t think he was partisan. Fauci’s passion was researching cures to HIV/AIDS. 4/

independent.co.uk/news/world/ame…

George HW Bush didn’t think so either, awarding Fauci the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 5/

cnn.com/2020/04/02/hea…

What Fauci is is one of the world’s leading experts in infectious diseases & the body’s immune system.

Before COVID-19, he was at the forefront of our response to HIV, SARS, the 2009 swine flu pandemic, MERS and Ebola.

Some would say a handy guy to have around. 6/

What is Fauci being accused of?

1. Being wrong— not all knowing
2. Purposely shutting down the economy
3. Being political— which would be a new develop 7/

If you want to go after scientists for being wrong during the inquiry process, you’ve lost before you’ve started. That is the inquiry process. 8/

https://twitter.com/aslavitt/status/1260232982826188802

If you count how many times Fauci says “we don’t know”, “we think”, “our best guess”, “best guess” it would be hard.

When he says he knows something. He knows it. Rand. 9/

If you think Fauci is purposely shutting down the economy, you’re picking on the wrong guy.

Fauci says frequently that he’s not an economic expert & doesn’t give the president economic advice. 10/

Teams work when people play their positions. Scientists giving scientific advice. Economists giving economic advice. Stephen Miller giving racist advice. Etc. 11/

Being political — we can take that down. Truthfully he won’t speak ill of Trump if he doesn’t care for him. He doesn’t feel that’s his job. He gives his best advice based on what he knows. He’s 79 and thinks a lot about getting his job done. 12/

https://twitter.com/Liz_Cheney/status/1260372903452905480

There’s a really amazing rendition of what a professional like Fauci navigates in a political environment as explain by @davidfrum here. (I learned a ton from this conversation overall). 13/

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-…

Let’s look at what he’s actually responsible for. A vaccine.

As soon as the RNA sequencing was available, Dr. Fauci got the vaccine trials off in record time. As behind as we were at everything else, vaccine development is the one place we were ahead. That was Fauci.14/

So why try to take down Fauci? Here are some possibilities:

1. With Trump & his followers, you’re either with him or your against him. Right now Trump’s top goal is the economy & that makes scientific advice unwelcome. 15/

2. He won’t lie for Trump. If Trump tries to pass himself off as a scientist & Fauci is asked his opinion, he won’t support an unscientific claim. But he carefully demurs.
3. Fauci interrupts the narrative of what some people want to hear. 16/

4. What he says doesn’t meet with our physical reality at every moment. He talks about risks & possibilities of a contagious virus. When we modify our behaviors, the outcomes do change.17/

5. Science and experts are being used by elitists to control us. Trump doesn’t believe he needs to advice of experts.
6. And then there are the more fringe attacks which may make its way into this thread. Whether it’s RT sewing dissent or bots or anti-vaxxers. 18/

(Oh funny digression. RT sent me an email yesterday asking to do a profile on me. According to their email, seems like a lot of well-known people have said yes to this). 19/

So will he get fired? My guess is no. What will happen instead is what is happening now. Trump will sic his followers on him & attempt to discredit his lifetime reputation. And of course he will get pushed away from conversations that matter. Hence, the task force break up. 20/

Whether they find a way to push him out or just belittle him, one thing is clear: whatever happens he will be gracious. He wouldn’t undermine the country’s chances at beating CV by putting himself in the middle. Anyone who wanted to quit over it he wouldn’t let them. 21/

There was a point a month or two ago when the White House decided to scapegoat one of Fauci’s colleagues to the press as being responsible for the US’s reaction. Fauci refused to go along behind the scenes. 22/

But he managed to do it without picking a fight with Trump. “There’s no upside in picking a fight with the President,” he said. 23/

Yes, losing one of the most experienced & expert minds in vaccine development & immune systems is a danger. And a tragedy. 24/

But the continued crushing of dissenting voices will do us no favors in the hunt for scientific answers. It will do us no favors in navigating anything. We are dumbed down to one voice & whoever can work arouns it. 25/

It’s not the ideal time for a country to turn its back on integrity. On science. On truth. For decision makers to be surrounded by people who only nod their heads. 26/

A disturbing number of people are watching this happen, knowing it’s wrong without saying a word.

A disturbing number are cheering this on with the zeal of a public stoning. 27/

Personally I sleep better at night with Tony Fauci on the job. He’s a man who has been offered promotions & undoubtedly the most high paying jobs in the private sector. He’s turned them all down to serve. His only reward is to continue serving us. May he be able to. /end