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I would bet that if Dr. Fauci gets himself fired, the media attention will not follow him out of the room. Rather, the cameras will remain trained on the lying President. For this, the media are damned, but never mind that. Fauci knows that there will be less true information coming out if he no longer has access to that microphone.
He also knows his days are numbered, because he’s a competent expert. So I think he’s just trying to do some good as long as possible, without becoming an actual collaborator.
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I am hoping someone stands up and calls out the stupidity in he-who-shall-not-be-named’s statements. Yell it, call it, name it, say it. Do it live during the daily press conference. Get ejected, but do it.
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Is there a link in the post to the Science Magazine interview itself? Can’t seem to find something to click on…
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Thanks for posting it
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But that would be uncivil.
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I don’t agree but I wish I could. I rather suspect that anyone (or group) who threatened to resign probably got sacked in short order for such an egregious act of lèse-majesté / disloyalty.
Disloyalty is the ultimate crime in his eyes.
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you’re saying this as if i do not know it.
Then Trump will just replace him with someone even worse like a spirit medium to channel his dead MIT uncle.
Trump is already being blamed left and right and it doesn’t seem to be doing much to move the needle for this fucking guy.
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I’ll give him credit for this. I want more of these comments from him…
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You mean in terms of ratings? The bigger the tragedy, the more TV time the president gets.
quote=“quori, post:2, topic:166030”]
“Now, what did we learn”.
[/quote]
Nothing. He learns nothing.
ETA: But I agree, @anon61833566, it would be satisfying to hear him say it. And, if he said, dear press, the best thing you can do in this crisis is not give Trump any airtime, because he is a moron who is actively causing harm… Well, that would be a true public service.
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But they are: Same page, different book.
A recent NYTimes article really struck me - they talked about how various members of the administration had to obsequiously fawn over the president with flattery about what a good job he was doing - sometimes each person doing it multiple times per meeting - just to get the president to sit still and allow vital coronavirus response. Fauci knows this, and he knows that we’re potentially looking at millions of deaths in the US, and anything he can do to prevent the US response from being entirely dictated by Fox News talking heads will save lives.
(This also made me realize why Trump is so unashamed in publicly stating what a great job he’s been doing, contrary to reality and things he himself said a few days earlier, because everyone around him tells him so. But everyone only tells him that to flatter him, because that’s what’s required to get anything done.)
But with Trump, getting fired means you absolutely will become a scapegoat, even for the things that happened after you were fired.
For some of these perverse dynamics, I blame the press. It’s irresponsible of them to give Trump coverage - especially live coverage - now, given that he’s giving dangerous misinformation, but their excuse is that those around Trump do give valuable information that needs to be disseminated as quickly as possible. The White House press briefings get the focus, not what experts say. If Trump gets rid of the actual experts because they’re speaking truth to power, I’m pretty sure the press will continue their current practices, which will mean giving all their attention to dangerous idiots.
It has spun out of control and… 55% approval rating for how he’s handling this. I wouldn’t count on Trump getting the blame he deserves even with millions dead.
But if Trump outs him, the White House will do absolutely everything it can to discredit him and his expertise, and I fear the press would go along with it to some degree. (With misplaced both-side-isms, not giving Fauci any more attention because now he’s just a disgruntled former federal employee, etc.) I fear that Fauci going public and saying even, “Trump has done everything wrong and millions will die,” wouldn’t have much of an impact.
There were a lot of administration officials where I wish they had been publicly honest, because by remaining silent they simply allowed the bad outcomes to occur, but in this case, the public messaging by the White House about this pandemic will save (or lose) lives. So somebody halfway decent needs to be there.
Disturbingly, Fauci has been notably absent from press briefings since this came out, and Trump has begun repeating more of the nonsense from Fox News talking heads about the pandemic…
I noted that his palm didn’t seem to actually touch his face, so even his face-palms are safe.
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This is a charming fantasy.
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Will Traitor Trump ever be blamed for anything by his cult following? This ambulatory pile of feces ignored COVID-19 for months, made a token response, bungled that, and is constantly washing his bloody hands of responsibility for whatever happens next. Somehow 55% of the American people believe he’s handling this well.
Why? Because they’d rather listen to his blatant, easily busted lies than look at the scary facts.
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But I can’t jump in front of the microphone and push him down.
Why not? Oh, OK, that would be assault and battery. But, seriously, he could say, at an appropriate moment, “No, that’s wrong. People, do not listen to anything the President* says concerning this crisis. He has no idea what he’s talking about, and his ignorance can make you sick, if not kill you.”
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