Fauci says Fox News and RFK Jr. attacks 'accelerated' death threats
Category: News & Politics
Via: tessylo • 3 years ago • 20 commentsBy: Dylan Stableford and Kate Murphy, Yahoo News
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Fauci says Fox News and RFK Jr. attacks 'accelerated' death threats
“It’s very unfortunate because I don’t think he is inherently malicious,” Fauci said of Kennedy in a wide-ranging interview with Yahoo News on Tuesday. “I just think he’s a very disturbed individual.”
The former environmental lawyer’s book , “The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health,” was published last month.
“It’s a shame because he comes from such an extraordinarily distinguished family, many members of whom I know personally,” Fauci continued. “I was very close to Sen. Ted Kennedy, who was such an extraordinary person and a real warrior for public health and to have RFK Jr. just spouting things that make absolutely no sense ... I’m so sorry that he’s doing that.”
Fauci added: “Not just because he’s attacking me — that seems to be the rage among some people — but because ultimately it is going to hurt people.”
His comments came a day after Fox News host Jesse Watters encouraged attendees at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest conference to “ambush” Fauci with questions about the National Institutes of Health’s alleged funding of “gain-of-function” research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China.
“Now you go in for the kill shot,” Watters said . “The kill shot? With an ambush? Deadly. Because he doesn’t see it coming.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci at a press briefing at the White House earlier this month. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
Fauci told Yahoo News that such statements are often followed by death threats.
“It even gets accelerated when you have the inflammatory statements that are made, [by] people like RFK Jr. and some of the Fox media personalities,” Fauci said, adding that he finds it “strange that they go unchecked with no consequences for people to say that.”
“And when they do that publicly, that’s when I get more death threats and people harass me, my wife and my children,” he added.
“The only thing I’ve ever said or done is to encourage people to get vaccinated, to wear a mask and to do things that would be good for their health, the health of their family and the health of the community,” he said. “So to get villainized because of that is a sad testimony on our society.”
Fauci was also asked whether he believes former President Donald Trump has the power to change minds among his supporters who refuse to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
“I would think so, because of so many followers that he has — people who hang on his every word,” Fauci said.
In a live interview with Bill O’Reilly on Sunday, Trump revealed that he received a COVID-19 booster shot after previously saying he was not going to get the additional dose — and was booed by a smattering of those in attendance.
“One of the things that surprised me is that when he publicly made that statement, he was actually booed by his followers,” Fauci said. “Which tells me that the depth of the divisiveness in society, where people are so intent on not doing something almost for ideological reasons, without dropping back and taking a look at the big picture — that it’s for one’s own good to protect one’s self, to protect one’s family, but also for your communal responsibility to not allow this virus to run rampant through society.
“So I was pleased that the former president said publicly that he was vaccinated and boosted,” Fauci added. “I was dismayed that even his own followers booed him. It was rather disturbing to see that.”
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Faux news is spreading dis- and mis-information and ignorance and lies.
This RFK,Jr. and those attacking Dr. Fauci, are such ignorant shitheads.
They believe QANon and all the whackjobs, and not the trusted people in this field like Dr. Fauci.
Now we'll hear all the nonsense and ignorance and lies about this gain of function research from Rand Paul supporters and other whackjobs like him.
Fauci told Yahoo News that such statements are often followed by death threats.
“It even gets accelerated when you have the inflammatory statements that are made, [by] people like RFK Jr. and some of the Fox media personalities,” Fauci said, adding that he finds it “strange that they go unchecked with no consequences for people to say that.”
“And when they do that publicly, that’s when I get more death threats and people harass me, my wife and my children,” he added.
“The only thing I’ve ever said or done is to encourage people to get vaccinated, to wear a mask and to do things that would be good for their health, the health of their family and the health of the community,” he said. “So to get villainized because of that is a sad testimony on our society.”
A sad commentary on the state of the RW in today's America.
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What people don't seem to understand is, when you put yourself in the limelight there will obviously be those who don't agree with your assertions and opinions and will do stupid shit. Tough noogies. Comes with the territory. Sorry for he and his family but, he chose his path and as the highest paid GovCo employee, he should know there are gonna be whackjobs.
Not Lord Fauci ..... he's supposed to be beyond reproach
Shows how things can be taken out of context to further a narrative. If the press did not take this out of context and plaster it all over the news the vast majority of people would not even know Waters ever said it. That makes the press culpable of any violence that befalls Fauchi based on this event.
Fox response "Based on watching the full clip and reading the entire transcript, it's more than clear that Jesse Watters was using a metaphor for asking hard-hitting questions to Dr. Fauci about gain-of-function research and his words have been twisted completely out of context," Fox News said in a statement obtained by Newsweek.
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Stupid meme aside - Dr. Fauci didn't put himself in the 'limelight'.
Whackjobs aren't disagreeing with Dr. Fauci - they're threatening his and his family's lives. These anti-vaccers morons and those who support this ignorance are such ignorant shitheads.
Who did?
Trump is, of course, the person most ultimately responsible, but more direct blame probably belongs to a group of Republican senators who urged Trump to make Fauci the face of the pandemic response.
GOP senators tell Trump to make Fauci face of government's coronavirus response
Fauci didn't have to do it. There are others who have spoken out about it that were/are just as capable.
You’re right. No one put a gun to his head and said, “do it or you die.”
On the other hand, all he did was cooperate - i.e., he agreed to do the work after senators and the president asked him to do the job. And you fault him for that? Not the senators. Not the president.
I guess whatshisnames' ass kisser Redfield could have done it and I'm sure no fault would have been found there.
Not faulting him for anything. Glad he is doing what he feels is his part. The shit he is going through comes with the territory. Any public figure is bound to get threats from idiots who don't like what they say or do.
And you would be wrong. Still be those, sounds like you may be one of them by your post, who wouldn't like what he said or did either.
I'm sure I'm right
Watters is actually talking about a war of words but some of the people who watch Fox News will only hear the last paragraph because they don't understand what a war of words is
People on both sides of the aisle have a tendency to hear what they want to hear and they watch the media outlets that agree with their pre conceived ideas. The media reports news with the twist they feel their viewers want to hear. .