Dr. Anthony Fauci accused Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) of using the coronavirus pandemic for his own political gain, appearing at a Tuesday hearing on Capitol Hill with “evidence” he had printed from Paul’s website.
The heated exchange between Paul and Fauci, who currently serves as both the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and Chief Medical Advisor to President Joe Biden, began with Paul’s contention that Fauci had used his position to smear other epidemiologists who disagreed with his opinions on how the federal government should respond to COVID-19.
.@RandPaul to Fauci: “[T]he idea that a government official like yourself would claim unilaterally to represent science and that any criticism of you would be considered a criticism of science itself is quite dangerous…It is cheap politics & it is reprehensible.” pic.twitter.com/b6JCaaHQTR
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 11, 2022
“The idea that a government official like yourself would claim unilaterally to represent science and that any criticism of you would be considered a criticism of science itself is quite dangerous,” Paul said, going on to argue that Fauci — along with former National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins, had orchestrated a “published takedown” of scientists who advocated a more measured and targeted response to the pandemic.
As Paul’s time expired, Fauci asked for time to rebut the senator’s claims — but once his request was granted, instead of addressing Paul’s questions directly, Fauci accused him of fomenting death threats and said he didn’t know what he was talking about.
Dr. Fauci then demands time to read from remarks attacking @RandPaul for criticizing him w/o “a shred of evidence” and directly blames those who’ve disagreed w/him for the death threats he’s received & messages to family members.
He adds Paul is doing it “for political reasons.” pic.twitter.com/AzF8IsjRit
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 11, 2022
“So I ask myself why would a senator want to do this? So go to Rand Paul’s website and you see ‘Fire Dr. Fauci’ with a little box that says ‘Contribute here.’ You can do $5, $10, $20, $100,” Fauci continued, holding up pictures he said were printed from Paul’s website and wrapping up his remarks with the claim, “So you are making a catastrophic epidemic for your political gain.”
Dr. Fauci came to the hearing with printouts from Sen. Rand Paul’s website. pic.twitter.com/Wij11hRJaK
— Jeremy Art (@cspanJeremy) January 11, 2022
“You have politically attacked your colleagues and in a politically reprehensible way you’ve attacked their reputations,” Paul shot back.
Paul’s website, as Fauci noted, does have a page listed under the “issues” heading that reads “Fire Fauci.” The statement under that heading reads simply, “Dr. Anthony Fauci has abandoned science and embraced theatrics at the expense of our freedom. Thanks to public email records, we know for certain that Dr. Fauci has been ignoring good advice, and lying about everything from masks to the contagiousness of the virus. It’s time to say enough is enough and Fire Fauci.”
However, the “Fire Fauci” page does not include contribution options as Fauci suggested — rather, the page displaying options to donate to Paul’s campaign is accessed through the red “donate” button visible at the top right corner of every page.