Joe Biden on Friday said he was “very confident” in Dr. Anthony Fauci when asked about his embattled medical advisor during a press conference in Delaware. Fauci has been under fire from Republicans after explosive emails released earlier this week showed that he was aware of evidence supporting the Wuhan lab-leak theory, and quietly worked with self-interested scientists to cover it up. The White House, meanwhile has defended the longtime National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director.
“Do you have confidence in Dr. Fauci?” a reporter shouted as Biden was leaving the room at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center following his remarks about the May jobs report.
Biden poked his head out from behind the door to answer the question.
“Yes, I’m very confident in Dr. Fauci,” he replied.
On Thursday, the White House signaled that it would be standing by Fauci amid the growing scandal.
“The president and the administration feel that Dr. Fauci has played an incredible role in getting the pandemic under control, being a voice to the public throughout the course of the pandemic,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters in a briefing Thursday.
Fauci’s fall from grace in the eyes of Republicans since the emails were released, however, has been profound.
“Big Tech was censoring posts about the Wuhan lab leak. The media was calling people who talked about the Wuhan lab leak conspiracy theorists,” House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) tweeted. “All while Fauci himself was emailing about COVID-19 possibly leaking from the Wuhan lab. Let that sink in.”
On Fox News Wednesday night, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said that Fauci did not share any of the expert opinions he received about the lab leak theory to the Trump administration’s coronavirus task force in early 2020.
“Part of the troubling thing that we’re seeing with these emails that are coming out is, not only do they seem to correspond with what President Trump said and what [then-] Secretary [of State Mike] Pompeo said in terms of the origins of the virus,” Meadows said on “Hannity,” “but it indicates that Dr. Fauci had knowledge, or at least a suspicion, of things not happening in an evolutionary manner very early on, and he didn’t share that … That’s very troubling and something that we do need to get to the bottom of.”
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), the top Republican on the House Energy & Commerce Committee, on Wednesday called for more transparency from the National Institutes of Health.
“We must learn how the COVID-19 pandemic started and where it came from so that we can respond and be prepared for the world’s next pandemic,” Rodgers said in a statement. “NIH must be more forthcoming with information they currently have. We need more transparency from the NIH to inform and complete a thorough scientific investigation.”
“Fauci lost my trust long before this,” tweeted Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas). “Never contextualizing his statements, never giving honest risk assessments, always treating us like we are too stupid to do anything but lockdown and wear masks forever. The emails show it was worse than we thought.”
Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) introduced a bill last month titled the Fauci Incompetence Requires Early Dismissal (FIRED) Act. The Ohio rep tweeted that it was “time for Americans to hear from other voices. Dr. Fauci has lost credibility.”
“Fauci’s leaked emails are shocking to say the least,” tweeted Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). “He needs to be FIRED!” Greene said in a subsequent tweet, wearing a black mask that said “Fire Fauci.”
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has clashed with Fauci a number of times this year, simply said “Told you” in a tweet featuring an emoji of a pair of eyes and the hashtag “#firefauci.”
The 3,200 pages of emails from the first half of 2020, were released to BuzzFeed News following a Freedom of Information Act request.
Fauci’s book, “Expect the Unexpected: Ten Lessons on Truth, Service, and the Way Forward,” was removed from om major booksellers’ preorder sites earlier this week, leading some to speculate that it was due to a backlash over the emails.
National Geographic Books was set to release the book on November 2, and was making it available at both Amazon’s and Barnes & Noble’s sites for $18.
National Geographic Books, which is reportedly working on a National Geographic Documentary Film about Fauci, said the book was posted earlier than intended for pre-sales and that’s why it was removed.
Former President Trump released a scathing statement on Thursday blasting his former medical advisor, and patting himself on the back for not always taking his advice. Trump said that Fauci has a lot to answer for. “What did Dr. Fauci know about “gain of function” research, and when did he know it?” he asked.
After seeing the emails, our Country is fortunate I didn’t do what Dr. Fauci wanted me to do. For instance, I closed our Borders to China very early despite his not wanting them closed. The Democrats and the Fake News Media even called me a “xenophobe.” In the end, we saw this was a life-saving decision, and likewise with closing our borders to Europe, specifically to certain heavily infected countries. I was later given credit, even by “Tony,” for saving hundreds of thousands of lives. Dr. Fauci also didn’t put an emphasis on speed of vaccine production because he thought it would take 3, 4, or maybe even 5 years to create. I got it done in less than 9 months with Operation Warp Speed. In retrospect, the vaccine is saving the world. Then, I placed the greatest bet in history. We ordered billions of dollars’ worth of vaccines before we knew it even worked. Had that not been done, our wonderful vaccines would not have been administered until October of this year. No one would’ve had the shot that has now saved the world and millions of lives!
Also, Dr. Fauci was totally against masks when even I thought they would at least be helpful. He then changed his mind completely and became a radical masker!
There are a lot of questions that must be answered by Dr. Fauci. The funding of Wuhan by the U.S. was foolishly started by the Obama Administration in 2014 but ended under the Trump Administration. When I heard about it, I said “no way.” What did Dr. Fauci know about “gain of function” research, and when did he know it?