Fox News opinion hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham all took turns trashing Dr. Anthony Fauci for issuing a stark warning about the potential dangers of reopening the country.
The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee that reopening prematurely during the coronavirus pandemic could lead to “needless suffering and death” in a Tuesday hearing.
Later that night, Fox hosts ridiculed Fauci’s warning and questioned if he should be calling the shots for the country. Carlson, in a 10-minute segment, asked if Fauci is “right about the science” and wondered why lawmakers should listen to him.
“This is just buffoon-level stuff at that point, and we are not doing this to mock the guy,” Carlson said after showing a clip of Fauci suggesting people shouldn’t shake hands anymore.
“I mean, anybody who talks as much as Anthony Fauci does on television, we can tell you firsthand, is apt to say some stupid things. The point is, is this the guy in to whom you want to vest all of your trust?” he continued. “Tony Fauci has not been elected to anything. He’s had the same job for nearly 40 years. That means a majority of American voters have never even indirectly picked him for the role he has now. This is not the result of any kind of democratic process at work at all. Yet, in the last four months, Fauci has become one of the most powerful people in the world.”
“Some, particularly in our media and in our Democratic establishment, are clamoring to give Dr. Fauci even more power,” Carlson added. “Why? Some people seem to think that he should be dictator for the duration of this crisis.”
Hannity was not as harsh in his condemnation of Fauci, but he did note that the head of the NIAID was seemingly siding with Democrats who want to keep the country closed.
“The Left is waging a campaign of fear, hysteria despite declining COVID-19 infection rates. Well, Democrats, the mob, the media, they seem to want to keep this country locked down indefinitely. Dr. Anthony also seems to favor with the Democrats want,” he argued.
The top-rated cable news host said he agreed with Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who said during Fauci’s testimony that “I don’t think you’re the end-all. I don’t think you’re the one person that gets to make a decision” when it comes to reopening. Despite Hannity’s criticism, he called Fauci a “good man” and suggested some of his “wrong” statements in the past were because “China manipulated the data from day one” and “lied to the world.”
Ingraham issued a similar sentiment to Carlson but specifically took exception with the implications of Fauci’s testimony in regard to education.
“Parents across America let out a collective gasp. How is that based in science? With all due respect to Dr. Fauci’s expertise, no one elected him to anything. There are devastating consequences of keeping children away from school for extended periods of time,” she argued.
